


Hitman

by KillJoyintheTrench



Category: My Chemical Romance
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-30
Updated: 2019-09-29
Packaged: 2020-11-08 00:09:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 27,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20826092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KillJoyintheTrench/pseuds/KillJoyintheTrench
Summary: Gerard is a hitman with a 100% kill rate. What happens when he meets his match?violence, smut, good humor





	1. The Hitman

Clean up was always the most laborious part. It was easy to take someone out. Don’t get me wrong, it’s easy for me because I had built up focus, patience, and precision for years, but there was no getting used to the cleaning. I drug the man’s body into the abandoned garage, careful not to get blood anywhere. There’s wasn’t much blood, to honest with you. I’m a good shot. He was heavy, though. A forty-six-year-old cocaine dealer who pissed too many people off. I was getting good money for the job, so he must have been annoying as hell. I found the burn barrel and gas can I had hidden earlier in the back of the garage. I wrapped the guy in thick sheets of plastic and sawed him in half at the torso. The plastic caught all the blood so that I wouldn’t have to clean it, kind of like lining a pan in foil before you roast a chicken. I stuffed him in the burn barrel. I looked around outside the make sure there was no one around and rolled the barrel out the back alley. I doused it in kerosene and lit a match. I didn’t stick around to watch him burn. I cleaned up my supplies and hit the road.   
I had another job lined up, and this one wasn’t to be taken lightly. I never received calls from mafia men. They always did their own work; no outsiders allowed. When they did call, I couldn’t refuse. I had managed to lay low for years. There was no way I’d create bad blood between me and a mafia family now, especially the Iero family. I had been friends with the boss’s great-nephew for years. He probably got my contact info from him. I couldn’t blame Frankie for giving me up. I mean, he can’t say no to his great-uncle! I drove to the agreed upon meeting place, a restaurant owned by the family in a secluded part of town. Restaurant, my ass! It was for conducting other business that had nothing to do with food and everyone knew it. The lights in the place were dim and the ‘closed’ sign was on the door. I knew better. It was unlocked. I stepped inside. The boss was in the back of the room, flanked by three muscular guys. Two tall men waited for me by the door. One of them eyed me carefully. The other gestured to my jacket.   
“Guns on the floor, got it?”  
I nodded, emptying the three guns I had hidden from my jacket and my waistband. I set them on the floor and stepped away. I reached down toward my shoes. The guy rushed at me.  
“Woah,” I yelled, “I’m just taking my knives from my boots. I don’t want any trouble.”  
“Ease up, Tony,” the boss called from the back of the room, “just let him empty his pockets.”  
The guys backed up. I put all my weapons on the floor. They looked surprised at what I could hide in my clothes. The boss looked upset, but not at me. I think he was disappointed that had I not been willing to give up my weapons, his guards would have missed the knives in my shoes, leaving him vulnerable. The boss beckoned me back to his table. I sat down, unsure of protocol for this kind of thing. Was it like the Pope? Was I supposed to kiss his hand, or something? Frankie could never talk about anything family related, so I never knew what to expect.   
“Frankie says you’re a good kid, Mr. Way.”  
“Gerard, please, sir. I think he thinks too highly of me.”  
“Well I hope not. I need a trustworthy man for this job. Are you trustworthy, Gerard?”  
“Yes, sir.”  
“Well, you don’t look it to me. You look like a cocky, punk ass kid. But I trust my great-nephew, and he says you’re the best. You confided your secret to him. That must mean something.”  
“He’s my best friend, sir.”  
He just nodded, eyeing me carefully. I coughed.   
“Um, what exactly is it that you need from me, sir?”  
He handed me a picture of a dark eyed man in a trench coat walking into a building. It looked like it was taken from security camera footage.   
“This man needs to disappear.”  
The boss’s tone was dark. A shadow had crossed his face when I looked up at him.   
“What did he do, sir? If I can ask.”  
At the moment, a young girl walked into the room from the kitchen. She was tall, with shiny black hair and a perfectly pressed blue dress. Her face was marked with bruises. There were scratches on her neck.   
“This is my granddaughter. See her face? I don’t like my little girl’s face looking that way.”  
Oh boy. I looked at the picture. This douche bag was in big trouble. Now I saw why this had to be an outside job. The boss’s granddaughter is beaten and raped, and suddenly the attacker turns up dead…hard to cover that up. It had to be traceless, like magic. I could do it. I didn’t mind getting rid of filthy men like that. In fact, it made the job easier. I looked at the girl. She had to be no more than twelve. She wouldn’t make eye contact with me. I looked at the boss and nodded.  
“I’ll do it. It’ll be seamless. You have my word.”  
I took the picture and put it in my pocket. The boss nodded. He gestured to Tony to pick up my weapons, and to another guy who had a big suitcase. He put the suitcase on the table and opened it. The cash inside was double my usual fee.   
“Take it,” the boss said, “half now, half after it’s done.”  
I didn’t argue. The quadruple payment would get me a nice vacation. I packed my weapons and took the suitcase.   
“He’ll be gone before Tuesday, Mr. Iero.”  
“I’m holding you to that, kid.”  
I nodded respectfully and got back in the car. I had to admit, it was really intimidating being in there. Mr. Iero was a stern guy. However, my anger at this pedophile fuck-face was more intense than my anxiety. I drove home to my tiny fourth floor walk-up and hid the cash in the wall behind my bed. I unpacked my weapons, leaving one revolver in my waistband as always. I double checked all the locks on my doors and windows, and finally settled down for the night. It was going to be a long day of tracking and planning tomorrow. I needed sleep.   
“So how’d it go?”  
“You know I can’t talk about it, Frank.”  
“I know, but I just can’t believe it.”  
Frank’s voice was way too excited about me whacking off a guy for his great uncle. We met at our usual coffee spot before I had to get to work.  
“I’m sorry, dude.”  
I was referencing his cousin. He knew what I meant. He looked down at the floor.  
“She’s so young. I don’t know how she’s gonna deal. At least she’ll know…the problem will be fixed, you know?”  
I nodded. I looked at my phone. It was getting too late for comfort.   
“I gotta go.”  
“Call me later when you’re not being a vigilante.”  
Frank took his coffee to go and waved as he left. I chugged mine down and took a deep breath. Time for stealth mode. I walked down Third Avenue, recognizing the building from the security footage. I knew it as soon as Mr. Iero had handing me to picture. It was an odd color of brick with a very distinct molding on the sides. The bottom floor was a bank. There were offices and apartments on the floors above it. I hung around in the alley from across the street, waiting for the guy to come out. If he lived in the apartments above, he’d be leaving for work soon. If he worked in the bank or in one of the offices, he would be arriving. Either way, I’d get him. Sure enough, twelve minutes later, he strolled up the street and walked in the main entrance. I noted the time; that would be important later. I walked across the street and followed him inside. He went right past the entrance to the bank lobby and through the door to the offices upstairs. Interesting. I quickly went back across the street and climbed the fire escape to the roof of the building. I took out a pair of binoculars from jacket and looked through the windows. There he sat, at a desk on the third floor. He was typing at a computer. His office looked ordinary. Messy desk, bookshelves, stereotypical fake plant near the window. I guess Mr. Pedophile was a pencil pusher by day and a fucktard by night. This would be an easy job. I put the binoculars back in my pocket and noted the time again. Tomorrow was Friday. He would be back at work, same time, same place, and I’d be here waiting on the rooftop with my scope and my sniper rifle.   
“I think you’re gonna be late for happy hour, fuckface.”  
The next morning, I set up my rifle on the roof top and waited. And waited. And waited. Where the fuck was he? He better not have taken an early weekend. I looked around at the streets below. Other than the few people coming on and out of the bank and the offices, there was no one around. I hopped down the fire escape, straightened my jacket and fixed my hair, and put on a pair of sunglasses. Cliché, I know, but I had to hide my eyes. I went into the building and to the third floor. A receptionist sat at the desk at the top of the stairs. She was smiley. This wouldn’t be hard.  
“Can I help you, sir?”  
“Yes, I have an appointment with, um…”  
I motioned nonchalantly to his closed office door.  
“Oh,” she smiled, “Mr. Channing? He’s off today, sir. There must have been a mistake.”  
“No worries, I’m sure I can reschedule.”  
I winked at her, making her blush. She wouldn’t give me any trouble if she was daydreaming.   
“Actually, sir, was your business urgent? I only ask because Mr. Channing will be at the Radson Fundraiser Gala tonight. If you were meeting him about donations, you can find him there, and you won’t have to reschedule.”  
“That sounds perfect. I was planning on attending, myself. Thank you.”  
“Have a nice day,” she smiled.   
I smiled at her and went back across the street to get my weapons back. Time to find this gala. The receptionist was pretty. Too bad I didn’t have time or room in my life for women, or else I would have asked her on a date. Who was I kidding? When it came right down to it, I couldn’t ever get the courage to ask a lady out. I know what you’re thinking. But Gerard, you were just Mr. Suave in there! Winking at her, and all that? It’s different when I’m on the job. It’s like acting, no big deal. But in real life, with real potential for intimacy? Nope. I’m a stuttering mess around women. I packed up my things on sat on the roof for a few minutes, looking up this gala on my phone. It was at the Roxy Hotel at 8pm. That was a ritzy place. This guy was dealing with large sums of cash. It would be crowded, but I could manage. I went home and changed into a tux I had saved for such an occasion. Black on black, so I could blend in. Pops of color were in fashion, but that would just make me more noticeable. I studied a map of the inside of the hotel. The gala would be in the ballroom. There was a men’s restroom with a corner window nearby. No stalls-only one toilet. I could wait for him to take a shit, shoot him right through the window, and then pick the restroom lock to get his sorry ass out. He was a creep; he deserved to die taking a shit. Perfect. I found the perfect place to shoot from across the street. I could see everything going on in the ballroom through the large bay windows, and still see the men’s bathroom. I saw him arrive at the gala through the binoculars. No date. Good. If no one was hanging on his arm, my job would be easier. I lit a cigarette and watched him move about the room, kissing ass with all the rich people. He pretty much stayed in view. If I wanted to, I could have shot him right through the bay window, but that would cause a scene. I lost sight of him three times, when this chick in a black dress and about three pounds of diamonds would step into my view. She was sipping wine from a glass and looking around, unknowingly getting herself in the way my sniper rifle.   
“Will you just move, already?” I whispered to no one.   
I saw my guy. He was moving toward the bathroom. Finally! I got into position and looked through the scope. Yep, there he was, pulling down his trousers, preparing for death. To my astonishment, he opened the small window before sitting on the toilet. Could this guy make my job any easier? I aimed. Bang! Well, there was no bang, I use a silencer. The best silencer there is, in fact. I saw him slump forward. He was motionless. A perfect shot, as always. Now to clean up. I packed up my weapons and put them in my car two blocks down the street. I made sure I was presentable and went to the hotel. There was no formal security, just a couple of suits outside the entrance to the ballroom. They didn’t even check for a ticket or an invitation. He held my head high, blending in with the snobs in my expensive tux and it worked like I charm. I grabbed a glass of champagne from a caterer for looks only—I never drank. I walked with the glass, slowly moseying toward the men’s room. I saw the girl in the black dress with the wine. She was looking around as if she were looking for a particular person. Shit. She better not be looking for my guy! I couldn’t afford to wait. I went to the men’s room, taking my picking kit form my pocket.   
“Sir?”  
I jumped a foot in the air. I am not one to be easily startled. I turned. It was her.   
“Just using the restroom,” I smiled, pointed to the door,  
“Sir, can you see if there’s someone in there? My friend went to use it earlier and never came back.”  
Friend? Who the hell would be friends with that guy? Especially a smart looking young lady. Maybe I was saving her from a fate similar to Mr. Iero’s granddaughter.   
“Um, sure, I’ll check.”  
I jimmied the lock, hoping she’d go away. I poked my head in the door. The dead guy was slumped onto the floor. I turned, to my dismay, she was in the hall, waiting for my answer.   
“Nope, all empty in here.”  
She frowned.   
“Thanks anyway.”  
She walked away. That was too close for comfort. I locked the door behind me and propped the guy up against the back of the toilet. No blood, except for the drops coming out of his head. Perfect. I put on a pair of plastic gloves and removed his jacket. I wrapped it around his head. There was a cleaning closet next to the window. I found some bleach and paper towels. The closet was quite deep. There was a hatch in the back—and old crawl space. I opened it, it was empty. I put the guy in the crawl space, removing the bullet from his head with a scalpel before shutting the door on him. I wiped everything down with bleach just in case. I dowsed his body with the rest of the bleach. That would hide the smell for a little bit. By the time anyone found him, there would be no trace of me. I removed my gloves and hid them in the bottom of the trash can. I flushed the toilet and washed my hands for appearances. I opened the restroom door, and there she was, right in my face, her arms folded in defiance.   
“Where is he?”  
“Where’s who?”  
I kept walking, she followed me.   
“You know who I mean.”  
“No, I honestly don’t.”  
It was partially true, I didn’t really know the guy’s name.   
“I saw him go in that bathroom.”  
“Well I don’t know what to tell you, lady, there was no one in there but me.”  
“Look, if you’re one of those high rollers who thinks can get away with owing him cash, you’re wrong.”  
“You think this is about money?”  
“So you do know him!”  
Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck. How did I let myself slip? Her defiance annoyed me. She smirked, knowing I screwed up. Her white teeth shined behind her red lipstick when she smiled.   
“I’ve got you, now,” she threatened, and turned to walk back to the men’s room.   
Oh no. No no no. Was she seriously going to go in there? Shit! I followed her, and low and behold, she went right in! There was no one in there. I followed her inside and shut the door behind us.  
“See?” I snapped, “Empty. Happy now?”  
She eyed me suspiciously, “Who are you?”  
“No one.”  
“Yeah. Right.”  
She looked around the room.   
“He’s a very dangerous man, you know. If I were you, I’d deal with your cash elsewhere.”  
“Yeah, no kidding.”  
“What’s that smell?”  
“I don’t smell anything,” I lied, I was starting to sweat. I didn’t successfully complete 568 hits just to be found out by a nosy lady in a nice dress and Cartier diamonds.   
“It’s bleach. Lots of bleach.”  
Her eyes narrowed. Her hand went to the cleaning closet.   
“Don’t!” I jumped between her and closet door.   
“Why? What’s in there?”  
“You don’t want to open that door. Lady, hear me out. Just go home. Pretend like you were never here. Trust me.”  
“Oh my…oh my god…”  
Her eyes were wide, not with fear like I expected, but with surprise.  
“Did you? Did you…kill him?”  
“Like I said. Go home. Forget about this.”  
I had never killed a woman. I wasn’t about it now, just to cover my tracks.   
She sighed. She looked almost relieved.   
“Thank God!”  
Wait…what!?  
She took a cell phone out of her pocket and dialed a number frantically. Someone picked up on the other end.   
“June? Yeah, it’s done. I didn’t do it, it’s long story. I’ll check in later.”  
She hung up the phone and put it in a hidden pocket in her dress. She took off her heavy necklace and sighed.   
“Ugh that thing was killing me! It’s heavier than it looks! Thanks for saving me some work. I really didn’t want to have to try to seduce that guy.”  
“Seduce him? What the hell is going on?”  
“It’s the easiest way to get their guard down.”  
“Wait, you were going to kill him, too?”  
“Yeah. Looks like now I don’t have to.”  
She slipped her necklace into her pocket and took out a small card. She handed it to me with a smile.   
“If you ever need any help.”  
Help? Help! Yeah, right.   
She walked out of the bathroom, leaving me in silence with the corpse in the closet. 

I met Frankie the next morning at our usual place. He had arrived early and had already ordered me my usual coffee. I slumped down into the chair.   
“Long night?” he asked, eyebrows raised; I was usually vigilant and put together. He wasn’t used to seeing me exhausted.   
“I had a hard time sleeping. Something weird happened.”  
He looked around the room.  
“Something at work?”  
“Yeah. I mean, don’t worry, the job got done. Your uncle will be happy. I’m going to see him right after this.”  
“Good. So what’s weird about it?”  
“So the guy ends up going to a party thing. Fancy gig. I have to go in to clean up. There’s this chick hanging outside the men’s room. She was looking for the same guy.”  
“Huh.”  
“Yeah…turns out…we have the same job.”  
I widened my eyes to try to get Frankie to take the hint. He just looked at me in confusion.  
“What?”

“She was there for the same guy. And she almost blew my cover.”  
He smiled at the agitation in my voice.  
“Was she hot?”  
I scowled, “What? No! Why would you even ask that?”  
“It could be nice. You know, to have someone who can finally handle your sorry ass. A woman who can finally give you a run for your money. You’ve been alone too long. You’re practically a nun.”  
“Not funny, Frank. And I prefer it this way. Less to weigh me down.”  
“Whatever.”  
I put the card she gave me out on the table. There was no name on it, just a logo and a phone number. The logo was an angel wing.  
“What’s that?”  
“She gave it to me in case I need help,” I cringed at the last two words.   
“You gonna call her?”  
“Fuck no!”  
I pocketed the card and looked out the window, infuriated. Help. What the fuck did she think I was? I took care of her job!   
“Ok, well you keep scowling, I’m gonna go rehearse with the guys.”  
Frank smiled sheepishly and stood up, downing the last of his coffee.  
“Tell them I said hi.”  
“You know, the offer still stands. They love your singing voice. If you ever want a change of career…”  
“I’m good, thanks.”  
It was true. I don’t do attention. I don’t do crowds.   
“Suit yourself. See you tomorrow.”  
I watched Frank walk down the corner. It was time to go see his relatives. Mr. Iero was pleased. I showed him several photos of the deceased rapist. He smiled.   
“And before Tuesday!” he said gleefully, “You did good, kid.”  
He snapped his fingers and one of him men brought me another briefcase of cash. I accepted it happily. I questioned telling him about the woman, but I was curious.  
“Sir?”  
“Yeah, kid?”

“I thought you should know, there was someone else after your guy that night.”  
“Oh?”  
“Yeah. A woman.”  
He laughed, “It’s a good thing you got to him first.”  
“She was also trying to fulfill a hit. She left when she realized I got him first. She had long black hair, pale, put together kind of girl.”  
He smiled wider, “I don’t know of any ladies that carry out hits. You got me, kid.”  
“Thanks, anyway, sir.”  
“You need anything, kid, you call me. You rat me out to anyone, you’re dead before your eyes open in the morning, got it?”  
“Yes, sir.”  
“That’s a boy.”  
He winked and one of his men showed me out. 

I decided to give myself one day off before my next job. It was going to be a doozy, so I needed one day to clear my head. I didn’t like my job being interfered with, especially by a questionable stranger. I spent the day watching Netflix and napping. The next morning, I was up early. Showtime. This one had to get slightly theatrical. My target was a middle-aged bar owner responsible for several police raids at a club downtown. He was a liability to someone, because my payment was made in advance. I had watched him the week before. He at least had a conscience. Every day, he went to confession at St. Bartholomew’s at 8:00am. He’s either very remorseful or blowing the priest, who knows. Thankfully, the head priest at St. Bart’s was no saint, either. He was a drunk. I knew this by watching him, as well. I snuck into the rectory and slipped some sleeping pills in his vodka bottle; which he would surely hit the minute he woke up. He would be passed out, and I would be waiting to hear my target’s confession before ending his life. I hoped he saved the good sins for last. I didn’t want to be bored.   
I stole some clothes from the priest’s closet before I climbed out the window. The church was deserted. It was way too early for anyone to be here, but the door was always unlocked. I found a men’s room and changed my clothes. I didn’t look half bad in the shirt, pants, and jacket. Black was my color. It was the tab collar that looked weird. I fixed my hair and went into the confessional and waited. After a few minutes, I heard the oak door to the church creak open. I looked at my phone. He was early. Someone sat on the other side of the confessional. A voice hit my ears—a woman’s voice.   
“Forgive me father, for I have sinned. It’s been two weeks since my last confession.”  
“What are your sins?”  
Oh shit, I was actually going to have to pretend to know what I was doing. What did priests tell you to do again? Hail Mary? Something like that?  
“I’ve had hateful thoughts toward others. I hurt someone, physically. I’ve lied.”  
Wait…I knew that voice…oh, shit. My silence gave me away.  
“Father? Are you listening?”  
“Oh, fuck.”

“Um, excuse me?”  
“I can’t believe this, this is twice in a row, now” I whispered.  
She knew my voice.  
“You!?”  
She leaned over and looked through the holes in the confessional.  
“Why are you dressed like that?”  
“I’m working.”  
“Are you serious? You’re carrying a hit in a church? And in that outfit, that’s sacrilege!”  
“My guy will be here any minute, I don’t have time to argue with you about moral gray areas.”  
“This is highly inappropriate.”  
“What, you have a priest kink or something?”  
“You are disgusting.”   
“Then get out of my confessional and let me work.”  
I heard her stand and step out of the booth. I could hear her heels clicking, then she shut the oak door behind her. God, why did she have to just show up out of the blue and irritate me? I got my head back in the game. The door opened again. This time, the footsteps into the booth were heavier. This was my guy. I got the syringe ready. I was going to dose him and take him out with a—suddenly, he slumped against the wall of the booth with a thud, without even getting a word out. What the fuck? The lady’s head popped into my side of the booth, poking around the door. She smirked. My eyes widened, I couldn’t help it.  
“You took my hit!”  
“You took mine, asshole. Remember?”   
She stepped away, and then came back for one final blow.  
“Oh yeah, you have clean up duty. I don’t wash up after men.”  
Jesus. Fucking. Christ. By the time I stood up and got out of the booth, she was gone. I walked to the other side of the confessional and stared in disbelief at my target. It was a clean shot. Her silencer must have been top notch, too. I unrolled the plastic sheets from my waistband and wrapped him up. He slid easily against the carpet as I dragged him out the back door to my awaiting car. No one was around. Easy. I put him in the trunk and prepared to take him to the burn barrel. I took the tab collar off and but it in my pocket—it might come in handy. Priests were generally seen an incapable of murder. If I ever had to look innocent, I could use this outfit again. Before I shut the trunk, I notices something sticking out of my target’s jacket pocket. I picked up the card, it was the same as her other one, this time with a handwritten note. “I’m telling you, if you ever need help…”   
When the fuck did she find time to write a note? Damn, she was good. 

Frank was no help in the matter.   
“You know, dude, you can take this as a sign.”  
“A sign?”  
“Yes, the universe is telling you it’s time to stop being so solitary and maybe tag team with someone.”  
“Team!?” I shook my head, “no way. I don’t do teams. I am a one man show. Besides, she’s as annoying as hell. Know-it-all, prissy, Miss Morality. I can’t take it.”  
Frank laughed.   
“What? What’s so funny?”  
“You like her.”  
“No. Absolutely not. She’s insufferable. She goes to confession, for Pete’s sake. Ew, church.”  
“You like her.”  
I shot him a glare of warning. One more time, Frank. Go on. Try me.  
“Ok, Gerard. If that’s what you think.”  
Frank put his hands up in surrender. That’s what I thought. I entertained one thing, though.   
“She is a good shot, though.”  
“Does that turn you on?”  
“Frank!”  
“Ok I’m done, I’m done, I just had to get that one out. Sorry.”  
He giggled. 

Thankfully, the next week was Prissy Girl-free. I carried out one successful hit without any interference from the peanut gallery. It was great. Therapeutic, actually. I felt like myself again, calm, cool, and collected. Not agitated. This was a blessing, because business was picking up. I actually had to turn someone down for the first time because my schedule was too full. Weird. My next hit was going to be tricky. I met with my client late at night. He didn’t do mornings. He gave me a name, a picture, and said the guy was the king of scum. He wouldn’t tell me why he wanted him dead. I didn’t ask. He gave me an address.   
“You can find him here, at midnight on Friday nights. He always wears that same suit,” my client said, pointing to the picture.   
I nodded and left. This guy made it easy. He had an exact location and time, and the guy was going to be in a tacky suit that stood out like a sore thumb. Easy! On Thursday I scoped out the address that guy gave me. It was a strip club. Ugh. I hated these places. I had never been in one, and I never wanted to be. It was uncomfortable. I mean, I like boobs and ass as much as the next straight guy, but there was too much going on in those places. Did the girl even want to be there? Did she have three starving kids at home? Did she shoot up before walking out to shove her crotch in your face? Yikes. I braced myself and went in. It was early in the evening for it to be hopping, maybe there wouldn’t be that many girls walking around. I went inside and walked to the bar. A girl in a bikini was serving drinks. There was no one sitting at the bar, thankfully. She smiled at me.  
“What can I get you, honey?”  
“Nothing, it’s too early for me,” I lied, I never drink, remember?  
She frowned, sad at losing a tip. I handed her a twenty and showed her the picture.   
“You know this guy?”  
She didn’t look at the picture long. She leaned in closer to me.  
“That’s Lou, he’s a bouncer. Here on Friday and Saturday nights. Real asshole. Bouncer, my ass. Everyone knows he whores those girls out. I’m lucky I’m up here at the bar.”  
“Where does he hang out?”  
“He’s always backstage. But you won’t get back there.”  
“Why not?”

“Ladies only. He only takes particular customers who he trusts. No new faces. Anyway, you’re cute, you’re not the type to be one of his contacts, you know?”

I nodded.   
“Thanks.”  
I handed her another twenty, but she shook her head.  
“Keep it, sugar.”

I walked back outside. Well, fuck. How was I going to get to him? He was bound to be surrounded by people. I couldn’t just wait for him to leave the club. I needed this to be a close-up job. I couldn’t have women in the crossfire and I wouldn’t put it passed this guy to use one as a shield. I bit my lip and pulled my hair in frustration. I couldn’t believe this. I needed a woman. I needed a woman that was good with a gun. I pulled her card out of my pocket and dialed the number. She picked up on the second ring.   
“Yeah?”  
“Hey, um, I need your help.”  
“Well, well…”  
I could hear the smirk in her voice.   
“Cut the shit, I wouldn’t be calling if it weren’t for extenuating circumstances.”   
“What’s the job?”  
“Can’t talk here. Can you meet me somewhere?”  
“St. Paul’s on Ridge Ave in half an hour?”

“Got it.”  
I hung up and stomped my way to the cathedral, taking my anger out on the sidewalk. I hated this. It felt awful. I wanted to puke. I knew I’d walk in there, her face would be all smug and pleased with herself for roping me in. Why did my guy have to be a pervert? Why couldn’t he just have been some heroin dealer? When I got to the church I saw her kneeling in the back pew. I knew why she picked the spot. It was dark, and empty. I slid into the pew and kneeled next to her. It wasn’t fond of being to close to her, but it was easier to whisper that way.   
“My guy is pimping out strippers. I can’t get near him without being a known client or having boobs, so I need a female.”  
She nodded. I took a peek at her face. She wasn’t smug. She looked like she was thinking carefully.   
“Where at?” she finally spoke.  
I gave her the address and she rolled her eyes.  
“You know it?”  
“Unfortunately, yes. It’s trouble. And you’re right, you do need me. When are we doing this?”

“Tomorrow night, midnight.”  
“Ok. Here’s what we do—”   
“I know what to do, I just need a trigger finger.”  
She looked agitated.  
“DO you want my help or not?”  
I sighed and let her talk.  
“We’ll need to get something in his drink. Not to wipe him out, but to make him sick.”  
“I already planned that. I made buddies with a lady at the bar today, she’ll help if I asked.”  
She raised her eyebrows.   
“Not like that,” I rolled my eyes, “I just talked to her. She thinks the guy is a creep.”  
“Ok, good. When he goes outside to puke, I’ll take him out.”  
“How do you know he’ll go outside?”

“He’s prideful, he won’t be sick in front of his people.”  
“What are you, a shrink?”  
“No. Profiler. Former FBI.”  
“What the f—you’re with the FEDS?”  
“WAS with the Feds. That’s neither here nor there. Pay attention.”  
How was I supposed to pay attention after that bombshell? She kept talking.   
“I’ll take him out then you wait close by and help me with the clean up. We’ll have to move fast, he always has people on him.”  
“How are you gonna get back there?”  
“I’ll blend in with the girls. It’s not hard.”  
Blend in with the girls? She was gonna put on stripper clothes and—oh no, no no.   
“No way.”  
“What?”  
“You’re gonna get…hurt.”  
“Who are you, my dad? I can take care of myself. It’s not my first rodeo, cowboy.”  
“Apparently not, and don’t call me cowboy.”  
Her lips tightened in frustration. It was nice to see her angry. After all, she just dropped a bomb on me. She deserved it.   
“So what, did the Feds kick you out or something?”

“No, I chose to leave.”  
“Why?”  
“None of your God damn business.”  
“We’re in church. Don’t take the Lord’s name in vain.”  
She rolled her eyes, “let’s stick to business, shall we?”  
“Fine by me.”  
We planned the rest of our attack. Tomorrow night would be interesting. 

Just as I thought, the bar tender was more than happy to help me slip a few pills into my target’s drink. I told her they wouldn’t kill him, only make him vomit, and she looked genuinely disappointed. She served him the drink. I sat in the back of the club, hoping and praying that no one would approach me, especially the dancers. I only had to stay inside long enough for the girl to appear and give me the signal to go get the car. I didn’t even know her name. weird. She didn’t know mine, either, so I guess we were even. It was safer that way, anyway. I looked up at the stage, trying not to make it seem like I was looking at the dancers. Eye contact was all it took, then they’d see dollar signs and approach me. Ew. So far, no girl. A tall, leggy blonde in a thong hopped off the stage with a smile and walked toward my table. Oh no. No no no no. I looked over her shoulder, maybe she would get the hint that I was disinterested. She didn’t.   
“Hi handsome. All alone?”  
“Actually, I’m waiting for a friend.”  
“I’ll keep you company.”  
She looked young. Way too young to be in here. I didn’t want to make her feel bad. I looked past her again. Thank god I did, because there was the girl, giving me the signal. She was dressed in a very short thing you couldn’t even call a skirt and what looked like a bikini top that was three sizes to small. She scowled when she saw the dancer in front of me. She probably thought I was having fun while she was working. I mouthed a “sorry” to her and she rolled her eyes. I would explain later. I looked up at the dancer and handed her a twenty.   
“Listen, honey, I’m not really in the mood, but take this, ok?”  
She took the money, shrugged, and walked away. I left and grabbed my car. I pulled around to the back. She was waiting there with our guy, dead and slumped against the wall. She was half holding him up, struggling beneath his weight. I jumped out of the car and helped her.   
“Looks like you were having a great time. Who’s the blonde?”  
“Some stripper and I was not having a great time. I lost twenty bucks just getting her to go away.”  
“Yeah, ok. Just get him into the trunk.”   
We heaved him into the car and she got in the passenger seat. I put the car in drive. She put her arms around her shoulders and it dawned on me how exposed she was. I grabbed a jacket from the back seat and handed it to her.   
“Thanks,” she said, covering herself up, “I brought clothes, I almost forgot.”  
She pulled a small bag from my backseat and took out a t shirt and pants.   
“When did you put that in my car?”

“This morning.”  
“How did you…how the fuck did you find my car?”  
“Former FBI, remember? I can find someone’s vehicle if I want to, Gerard Way.”  
I slammed on the brakes. I was at a red light, anyway.  
“How did you…?”  
“It’s not hard. Although, you did take some extra work than others. And your address is still illusive. But you’re 26, you live somewhere between 3rd Ave and Bethany Street, you drive this piece of shit car, not because you can’t afford a new one, but because you want to blend in. You go to the same coffee house every morning and you live alone. In fact, you’re always alone.”  
I looked at her in disbelief.   
“I’m not stupid, Gerard. I do my homework before I get in a car with a known hitman.”  
I was angry. But at the same time, I couldn’t blame her. If I was a woman, I would have done the same thing.   
“You trust me, then.”  
“For now.”  
I nodded.   
She put the clothes on over her stripper clothes and sighed in relief.   
“That’s better.”  
We destroyed the guy by fire, just in case. Things got a little messy, he was a bleeder. When we went through his pockets, we found out why. He was on blood thinners. The girl, who had not yet revealed her name, got blood on her clothes and her skin. When we disposed of the body and our supplies, we got back in my car and I drove her to my apartment to clean up.   
“I can clean up in my own bathroom, it’s fine.”  
“No, I insist. You helped me, I’ll help you. Besides, I don’t want you followed.”   
As we walked up the stairs to my apartment, I became painfully aware of how messy it was. I never let anyone inside. Oh well, there was nothing I could do about it and I wasn’t trying to impress anyone. I opened the door and she looked around carefully. For a second I thought she was smirking.   
“Home sweet home,” I said, throwing my stuff on the floor, “Bathroom is that way.”  
She nodded and went in the bathroom. I could hear the water running. I remembered her bloody clothes and yelled through the door.   
“I can lend you a tshirt if you want.”  
“Thanks!” she yelled back.   
I found one that was too small for me and passed it to her through the door, only opening it a crack and turning my head away, just in case.   
She came out of the bathroom a few minutes later, blood free and with my shirt on. I couldn’t help but take another close look at the mystery girl. She was kind of pretty when she wasn’t scowling at me. I thought of how dressed up and made-up she was at that gala. She looked much better this way. Just natural, casual.   
“What are you staring at?”

“Nothing.” Oops.   
She sat down next to me on my sofa.   
“Well, I’d call that a success.”  
“Same.”  
“It was nice to tag-team with someone.”  
Tag-team. That’s the term Frank used.   
I nodded. I hadn’t made up my mind yet.   
“You want something to drink. I’ve got water, tea, coffee.”  
“Got anything stronger?”  
“Sorry, I don’t drink.”  
“Fair enough. Coffee is fine.”  
I put on a pot and sat back down.   
“So, you gonna tell me how you got out of the FBI?”

“Nope.”  
“Your name, then?”  
“Angelica.”  
“Last name?”  
“Nope.”  
“You know mine, that’s not fair.”  
“Life isn’t fair.”  
I rolled my eyes. She was a prick when she wanted to be. I turned to face her.   
“Why are you like that?”  
“I could say the same thing about you.”  
“You like it, though. You like that I annoy the crap out of you.”  
Where was I going with this? What was happening? I was never like this. Shit, I wouldn’t even have let a chick into my apartment! Yet here she was, the most aggravating, irritating woman I knew, on my couch. Was I flirting with her?  
“You think I like you? You think I like how shitty your attitude is?” she snapped back.  
“I don’t think, I know.”  
What was wrong with me? I was actually smiling at her. Where was I getting these lines from? I leaned across her lap and touched her face, pulling her to me. She didn’t resist or move away. Good. I kissed her. What was I doing? No way, Gerard. No. Stop. But I didn’t. I kept going, and she let me. She fell back farther into the cushions. I felt her hips rise up against mine.   
“Do I turn you on?”  
Who said that? Who was making me say those things? I never would have said that!  
She raised an eyebrow, “You think you turn me on? No. Don’t flatter yourself.”   
I reached my hand down her pants. What the fuck was I doing? I felt a damp spot on the outside of her panties, hot against my cold hand.   
“Your underwear prove otherwise.”  
She trembled alittle.   
“Get your hand out of my pants,” she said, but made no move to stop me.  
“Do you really want me to?”  
Who was this guy? I was usually a mess around women. Nauseated, nervous, I’ve even hid a few times. Let’s not go there. She never answered my question. I took my hand out of her pants and kissed her again. She kissed back, there was at least that. And she didn’t make a move to button her pants back up. Interesting. I kissed her neck, she let a sigh escape, much to her own disappointment. She didn’t want me to know she liked it. That was ok. I could work with that.   
“You think you’re Don Juan, don’t you?”  
“Nope. Just Gerard.”  
“Do you normally murder people before you try to get off?”  
“Nope.”  
“I can think of twenty reasons why I should leave right now.”  
“I bet you can, but you won’t.”  
“Why not?”  
“Because if you go lay on my bed I guarantee you I can make you cum in less than two minutes.”  
What? Why did I say that? I couldn’t do that! Oh god, no… part of me hoped she would be offended and storm out. The other part of me wanted her to go over to the bed and let me have at it, even if I’d fail miserably. Oh, shit. She looked at me closely.  
“Is that a threat?”  
“It’s a challenge.”  
“You’re on.”  
She walked over to my unmade bed, took off her pants, and laid there. Oh Christ, why did I say that? I was about to look like an incompetent ass. As soon as I stood up she started a timer on her phone and set it down next to her.   
“The clock is ticking.”  
Oh fuck. That was hot. Intimidating, but hot. I took off her panties and to my surprise, she opened her legs for me. I slipped two fingers inside her. She was so wet. What had I done to turn her on? Maybe it wasn’t me at all, maybe it was the killing. Maybe the blood? Or maybe, just maybe, it was me. That would have been nice. She tried to keep a straight face, looking into my eyes defiantly, just to piss me off. I pulled my fingers out, right over her clit. She let a very quiet “Oh, God” out of her lips.   
“That’s flattering, but you can call me ‘Gee’ when we’re in bed.”   
She smirked, “You talk like this is going to happen again.”  
“I think it will.”  
“Don’t count on it. You have 50 seconds, Mr. Way.”  
She was trying to distract me. There was no way I’d let her win. No fucking way. Without missing a single stroke with my fingers, I knelt between her thighs and licked her clit. It had been a long time. Way too long. I forgot what it tasted like. I have to admit, I didn’t remember it being this good. I felt her start to tremble and didn’t slow. She let out a long, low moan and grabbed my hair. Bingo! I kept going, sure that she was in the middle of her orgasm. I waited until she let out a deep breath, until I was sure she was finished. I sat up and rubbed the inside of her thighs, looking at the puddle on my sheets. The timer went off. I won. I looked at her face. I half expected her to look angry. The look I saw was very different. She wasn’t defiant or angry. She was doe-eyed, content, beautiful, even. I suddenly felt guilty for turning her pleasure into a game. I took my shirt off, leaned over her and kissed her, softly, not teasingly like the first time.   
“Did you like it?”  
“Yes.”  
“Good. I wanted you to. I know you wanted it.”  
She looked embarrassed; I don’t know why. There was no reason to be. She blushed and turned her head away.   
“I want you, too.”  
I picked up her hand and placed her palm against my erection. Surprised, she turned and looked me in the eye. I wasn’t lying. You can’t fake a hard on. Something about seeing her so vulnerable and open turned me on. And she was beautiful, I wasn’t lying about that either. I couldn’t see it before, I was too stubborn and jealous.   
She interrupted my thoughts. She unbuttoned my pants and pulled them down my thighs, while sitting up to let me take off her shirt. She still had the stripper bra on underneath. We both giggled.  
“Please for the love of God get that thing off of me.”  
“No problem.”  
I untied it and threw it across the room and into the trash can, making her smile.   
I kissed her and touched her everywhere I could. Seeing her smile lit a fire in me. Where was nervous, awkward with women, Gerard? He went to a galaxy far, far away. Good riddance. She put her hand around my cock and that was enough. I didn’t want to wait anymore. I positioned myself between her legs.   
“Are you sure you want to?”  
“Yeah. Do you have condoms? I’m not on the pill and it’s hard to kill people with a baby strapped to your back.”  
“Ha! Yeah, hang on.”  
Thank god I kept those. I never opened the box, but they weren’t expired. I have to admit, I turned slightly so she wouldn’t notice that. I slipped it on and pulled her hips toward me. She moaned when I slipped into her. It had been so long, every little thing was making me crazy. She felt amazing. It was difficult, but it’s important to be a gentleman. Ladies first. Now that we weren’t competing, she let herself show how much she was enjoying it. She squeezed her thighs around me, moving her hips with mine. She moaned louder, not bothering to try to be quiet anymore.   
“Oh, Gee…fuck.”  
She actually called me Gee. Well, fuck. She was close. I felt her nails dig into my shoulders. I sat up and lifted one of her legs against my shoulders, rubbing my thumb lightly against her clit. It worked before. If it’s not broke, don’t fix it. She started to tremble and closed her eyes. She tightened around me and that was it. I lost it. I didn’t mean to be rough, but I quickened my pace until I felt us both succumb to orgasm. I don’t think she minded. She pulled me close to her and kissed me hard. We breathed together. I laid on her chest until I could talk.   
“You’re incredible.”  
I didn’t have to look up to know she was smiling.   
“You’re not so bad, yourself.”  
I slipped out of her, checked the condom to make sure it was intact—it was, thank God, and threw it in the trash.   
I climbed back into bed next to her. I didn’t expect her to be the snuggling type, but I was glad she was. We laid there for a few minutes. She yawned.   
“I can use that coffee, Gerard.”  
“It’s probably ice cold. I’ll make another pot,” I said, kissing her forehead. 

She stayed the night. I hadn’t expected that, either. No one had ever stayed the night in my apartment, even my old girlfriends. If they wanted that, it had to be at their place. What was I turning in to? We laid in bed and talked. I texted Frank that I would be skipping our coffee date. He texted back a smirking emoji. He knew. I swear that man was psychic. I’d have to face the Spanish Inquisition later.   
“So now that we’re a bit closer…wanna tell me your last name?”  
She sighed, “Sure. My full name is Angelica Iero.”  
My face must have turned stark white. She looked at me, confused. All I could do was stutter.   
“I-Iero?”  
“Yeah. What’s wrong?”  
“I, um…I know the family.”  
“Who doesn’t? They’re biggest mafia family in the area. Everyone knows that.”  
“I, uh…did a job for them.”  
“I know. The night we met. He tore up my cousin. That’s why they hired you.”  
“How’d you know?”   
“I’m not really close with them anymore, but I still have my sources.”  
“Do you know Frank?”

Her face lit up.  
“Of course, he’s my favorite cousin! I always liked him. Of course, we only see each other at weddings and funerals, now. I kinda miss him. But I have to keep my distance. After the FBI thing, I’m not really trusted. I don’t think Frank ever thought that way, though. He never wanted to be involved in the business, anyway. He has his music thing. I wonder if he still plays. I’d love to see him famous one day.”  
“He still plays. Not famous but getting there.”  
“You know him well?”  
“He’s, uh…he’s kind of my best friend.”  
“No!”  
“Yep.”  
“You’re kidding! Small world!”  
“Wanna go see him?”  
“Are you serious?”

“Yeah. You know how you said I get coffee at the same spot every morning? It’s with Frank. You’ve just never seen me when he’s there.”  
Her smile couldn’t have been brighter. I called Frank.  
“Hey, dude, I changed my mind about the coffee. You still there?”  
“Yeah, just chillin with my latte.”  
“Great. I’m heading over, and I’m bringing a friend.”  
“Oh? Interesting. Can’t wait.”

Frank saw us coming. His eyes widened as he recognized Angelica. He smiled through the window. He stood up and hugged her.   
“Oh my God! Angie! It’s been forever! How’d you meet—oh…oh Lord….seriously?”  
Frank looked at me suspiciously. I nodded.   
“Yep. That’s her.”  
He laughed. Almost maniacally. The whole coffee shop stared as we sat down. I ordered Angie and myself coffees and rejoined the table. Frank and Angie were talking about his music. I listened while they caught up with each other.   
“So what are you doing these days, cuz?”  
He said it with an odd inflection, as if to insinuate, ‘besides my best friend’.  
“She does the same work as me,” I said. Angie looked surprised.   
“He knows what you do for a living?”  
“Yep. He’s my best friend.”  
She conceded.   
“Yeah, I do the same thing as him.”  
“Nice. What a great couple.”  
I wasn’t sure what to say. Were we actually a couple, or just friends with benefits? Or co-workers with benefits? Or killers with benefits? Oy. How was I going to approach that later?   
Frank sensed the awkwardness of his comment and changed the subject to his band. He invited us to a show later that evening. We both agreed that we deserved a night off and decided to go. It had been awhile since I had a normal night out, let alone with a date. Angie went back home after our coffee with Frank. I went back to my apartment. For some reason, I felt the urge to clean. I cleaned until it was time to get showered and pick Angie up. She was waiting on her porch, wearing a red dress. She looked great. Not over the top like the gala, but perfect. She got into the car and looked me over.   
“Is that all you have? Black?”  
“Yes. You don’t like it?”  
“I didn’t say that.”  
“Your tone did.”  
“Bullshit. I like black on you. It suits you.”  
“What’s the supposed to mean? That I’m dark?”  
“Damn, you’re stubborn. Damned if I do, and damned if I don’t.”  
“That’s what makes you cute.”  
She didn’t like that.   
I felt her eyes on me. I stopped at a red light. I kissed her, then went ahead when the light turned green. She looked conflicted.   
“Angie?”  
“Hmm?”  
“Is this a date?”  
She didn’t answer right away. Now I felt like a jerk for asking.  
“You don’t have to an—”  
“I don’t know, Gerard. I’m only being honest, I don’t know what this is.”  
“That’s okay.”  
To be honest, I didn’t know either.   
I took her hand.  
“Let’s just have a good time. Labels be damned! We’ll hang out and watch Frank do acrobatic moves on stage.”  
“Oh god, does he still do that?”  
“Yep.”  
She smiled. And Frank certainly lived up to the hype. He somehow managed to bounce around the stage while hitting every note with his guitar and his voice. I envied him. He got through half the set and was covered in sweat. I got Angie a vodka and plain club soda for myself. I was glad she didn’t bother me about the drinking thing. Frank moved his hair back from his face and smiled.   
“I’m getting tired up here. I need a break, man. Fortunately, my very good friend is here, tonight.”  
Oh no. Oh God. Frank, no.  
“He’s right over there in the audience, and his voice is better than mine, and he wrote this song so he knows it better than me.”  
No Frank!  
I stared daggers at him as everyone in the crowd turned to look at me. I almost pissed my pants. Angie was smiling.   
“You sing?”  
“Not anymore.”  
Frank beckoned me up on to the stage. I could have squeezed my club soda until it shattered and killed him with the shards.   
“No, Frank!” finally managed to yell.  
“Yes, Gerard. Get your ass up here.”  
Everyone was staring. Oh fuck. I hopped up on stage and stole the mic from his hand. I covered the mic and whispered to him.   
“You’re my next job, ass.”  
He just laughed and started playing the song I knew he would play. Here we go. 

“You didn’t tell me you could sing! Or that you were in Frankie’s band!”   
Angie was way too excited about that. We said goodnight to Frank and the guys and got in my car. I wanted to ask her if she wanted to come home with me, but I chickened out.   
“I was never really in his band, I just filled in a few times.”  
“Why? He obviously would want you to be involved full time.”  
“I can’t do the whole crowds and attention thing.”  
“Oh? I’m sorry, have you seen yourself up there? Moving your hips like Elvis? I think you touched your crotch at one point.”  
“It’s like a light switch and I’m not a fan of that person.”  
“Are you sure? Because that’s exactly how you were when you were with me last night.”  
No. There was no way she was right.   
I didn’t have a response.   
“Does that mean you don’t like the person you were when you fucked me?”  
Ouch. That stung.   
“I didn’t say that.”  
“You might as well have.”  
Oh shit. I knew this would happen. I always ruin things. This is why I am better off 100% alone. No women. No relationships. Just work.   
“I’m sorry,” I muttered. That was that. Well, it was nice while it lasted. I pulled my car up to the sidewalk by her front door. She didn’t move.   
“I don’t even get a kiss goodnight?”  
I was shocked.  
“You want me to kiss you?”  
“Yes, at least a kiss.”  
“But you just said—”  
“Gerard, you have issues. Everyone has issues. It doesn’t mean I’m not interested. Just because I call you out on your shit, it doesn’t mean I don’t—”  
“Don’t what?”  
“It doesn’t mean I don’t want this to happen.”  
Woah. That table turned quickly. I was getting whiplash from this girl.   
“You want…like, to date?”  
“Sure. I’m willing to try. I really like you. You’re an asshole. You’re stubborn. You kill people weekly. But you’re a beautiful, complicated person and I love that.”  
I didn’t know what to say, I just kissed her. When I pulled away, she smiled.   
“And you’re a good fuck.”  
“I knew that was coming.”  
“Do you wanna come inside?”  
I nodded, maybe a little too enthusiastically.  
“Better move your car first, this is two-hour parking.”

I had wondered what the inside of her apartment looked like from the moment I picked her up. The outside looked very prim and proper, a prime real estate spot. Inside, her place was quite unusual. She collected the oddest things. She had framed dead bats in her wall…what the hell? They reminded me of a belt buckle I had years ago. I think it was buried in my closet. She came in the living room where I was being nosey and handed me a glass of lemon water.   
“Thanks.”  
“Like my collection?”  
“Um…yeah. It’s different. What else are you into?”  
She didn’t answer. She had one eyebrow raised.  
“I meant with collecting. Perv.”  
She smiled and kissed me.   
“You didn’t mean collecting.”  
“No, I didn’t.”   
I didn’t think she’d want to get right to the point. I was pleasantly wrong. My jacket and my shirt were on the floor before I knew what had hit me. Her mouth tasted so good. Her perfume was heavenly. I felt something soft underneath me. When did we get to her bedroom? It was all a blur. That’s what I liked about her. Unpredictable. Intoxicating. I wanted to rip her panties right off, but she stopped me. Fuck, did she change her mind?  
“Nope.” She shook her head, “You already got to tease me.”  
I knew where this was going.   
“Shall I set a timer?”  
“If you want. I’m gonna show you up, boy. What did you get? 2 minutes?”  
“Yeah.”  
“Give me 1 minutes and 45 seconds.”  
“Bullshit.”  
“Try me.”  
“Yes, ma’am.”  
I set the timer and laid back. It was all for show. She could take her good old time and I’d be just fine with that. All her smart mouth talk did get me hard, though. Maybe three minutes? Four? She put her mouth around my cock and I shuddered. Okay, maybe two and a half. She did something with her tongue. Ok, maybe less than that….   
“Oh fuck.”  
She was laughing. I felt it. That only made things progress further. Damn. She might actually do this. Oh God…she was! What the holy hell... that damn tongue thing she was doing…  
“Oh God…”  
I came in her mouth, holding her head down over me, shaking like crazy. She lifted her mouth off me and looked me in the eye as the timer went off.   
“That’s flattering, but you can call me Gee when we’re in bed together,” she said, mimicking my voice.   
I was eating my words.   
“Holy shit, woman.”  
She crawled into my arms and laid there. She didn’t ask me to get her off. She was satisfied knowing I was satisfied, which was new to me. I would repay her later whether she asked or not. I remembered something else.   
“Hey, you never answered my question.”  
“What question?”  
“What are you into? You know, is there anything special?”  
She blushed and hid her face.   
“What is it? You can tell me, I won’t laugh.”  
She looked up at me, her face bright red, “Do you still have that outfit you were wearing that day in the confessional?”

I broke my promise and laughed.   
“You’re kidding! I was right? You have a priest kink!”  
“Just for you. I didn’t even know it would turn me on until that day.”  
“I love that idea. And yes, I have the outfit. I thought it would come in handy for work, but…now it can use it for other things.”  
“Where is it?”  
“In my car.”  
Her eyes widened with excitement.  
“Oh no, baby. That’s for another time. I’ll surprise you one day.”  
She seemed satisfied with that and closed her eyes. She fell asleep before I could make a move on her. Maybe I’d wake her up that way in the morning.   
Unfortunately, I awoke to my phone ringing. It was still set on the loudest volume from the timer we used the night before.   
“G?”  
A voice said when I answered.  
“Who’s asking?”

“Mr. Iero. This is Tony, from the restaurant.”  
“Of course, what can I do for you?”  
“Mr. Iero’s encountered a problem with certain member of law enforcement. He wants you take care of it.”  
A cop? Oh…I never killed a cop.   
“Um…”  
“Mr. Iero asks that you talk to him about this favor personally. Today.”  
“Of course. What time?”  
“2pm. Same place as usual.”  
Tony hung up without another word. Shit. Angie slept through the whole phone call. Out like a light. I looked at my watch, it was only 6am. What mobster does business at 6 in the morning? At least I’d have time to spend with her, and then figure this out. I wanted to talk to Frank about it. He hated getting involved, but I needed his advice. Angie stirred next to me, still in her bra and panties. Dare I? I think so. She laid on her stomach, eyelids twitching. She was awake. She was so faking it. It was cute, though. I tapped her on the butt and pulled her panties off. She gave in and giggled. I put my hand between her legs.   
“I knew you were awake, faker.”  
“Sleep is the only thing I fake.”  
“Good.”  
I rubbed her until she was wet. I considered teasing her, but after last night I just wanted to be inside her. I moved her legs and took her from behind, only pausing to put on a condom. No childcare for hitmen. She gripped her pillow and moaned. I moved slowly, letting her enjoy it. She deserved it after last night. She looked pretty like that. I don’t remember ever speeding up. I didn’t think I could come like that, really slow and soft. I didn’t think a woman could come like that either, but she did. We did. It was different. When I pulled out of her, she turned to face me and kissed me as soft as ever. All of a sudden, my face was hot. My neck was burning, something turned in my stomach. I was gonna vomit.   
“I love you.” I whispered.   
My heart was beating out of my chest.   
“I love you, too.” She whispered back.   
Was I supposed to feel nauseated? That never happened before. I took a deep breath. I was lying, I loved her. This was it. Butterflies and all. I just didn’t think I’d admit it this soon. From the look on her face, she didn’t think so either. Maybe later would be a better time to discuss it. I changed the subject.  
“I got a call from one of Mr. Iero’s henchmen.”  
“What? Another job?”  
“Yeah.”  
“You don’t sound thrilled.”  
“I’m not. He wants me to kill a cop.”  
“Oh.”  
“I’m not sure I want to. That’s a whole different territory. Besides, now there’s a conflict of interest.”  
“What?”  
I looked at her. Stared into her eyes.  
“Oh, me!”  
“Yes, you.”  
“Why?”  
There were two reasons. One, she was estranged from that part of the family. If they found out we were together, which they were bound to, it would create problems. She wasn’t trusted. They’d either get rid of her or get rid of me. Two, I wasn’t so sure I wanted to work alone anymore, and she definitely couldn’t help me with an Iero job. When I explained that to her, I got the response I was expecting.   
“I’m a big girl, I can watch my back. You need to do your job. I just won’t work with you when it’s Iero business.”  
“Yeah, and when they see you hanging out with me and Frank? Then what?”  
She looked defeated. There was only one thing to do.   
“Let’s talk to Frank. Get his opinion.”  
“Yeah. But not at the coffee shop. Have him come here.”  
Frank showed up around 10, when he finally got his hung-over ass out of bed. I had four hours until my meeting. We explained everything to Frank who sat there with his mouth open like a cod fish, closing it only to take a drag from his cigarette. Angie hated him smoking in her house but made an exception. He looked insanely anxious.   
“Christ, guys.”  
That was all he could say. He rubbed his eyes with his hands. He looked at Angie sternly.  
“If you walk in there, it’s all hands on deck. You’re gonna have 12 guns pointed at you.”  
“I know that, Frank.”  
“Just sayin. Ever since you sided with the Feds—”  
“I didn’t side with the Feds, Frank! I sided with the family! No one believes me. Why do you think I left the FBI? I couldn’t do what they asked. I stand by my choice, but it hurts that everyone sees me as a rat when I saved half the family’s asses!”  
I had never heard her yell like that. She was pissed. And not in the snarky to Gerard because he’s stubborn way, in an I’m going to light someone on fire way.   
“I know, Ang. I know. It’s not me who’s against you.”  
“Sorry.”  
“As for you,” Frank said, turning to me, “If you tell him you can’t do it, he’ll be fine with it.”  
“You sure?”  
“Yeah. Did you cash in your favor yet?”  
“My what?”  
“You’re favor. You did a hit for him. He told you if you ever need anything, call, right?”  
“Yeah.”  
“That’s your favor. You can refuse the job and that will count as your favor, with no hard feelings.”  
“Ok, but that doesn’t help me with hiding Angie.”  
“I’ll talk to him.”  
“Frank, no. I know how much you hate getting involved.”  
“It’s the only thing I can think of. Besides, he loves me. I never ask him for anything and he’s always bugging me about it. He might actually feel respected if I seek out his advice.”  
“I don’t know. I’d hate to cause more rifts in your family than I already have.”  
“Gee, you are my family. You’re my brother. Whether you sing in my band or not.”  
“You had to wedge that in there, didn’t you?”  
“I’m an Iero, I know how to work my way into a favor.”  
Frank lit another cigarette and put his jacket on.  
“I’m headed over there. If you don’t hear from me, go in at 2pm like you planned. Without her. If you hear from me, that means change of plans.”  
His Italian roots were really showing. His accent was even a little stronger. We waited impatiently, staring at my phone. Frankie had been gone for over an hour. We got showered and dressed and were ready to go just I incase. Mr. Iero was not a guy you kept waiting. I nearly had a stroke when my phone rang at 12:30. It was Frank.   
“Hey, come over, ok? Bring Angie.”  
“OK. What—”  
He hung up before I could say anything. His voice was monotone. I couldn’t sense if that was good or bad. I looked at Angie. She nodded, but her hands were shaking. The drive over there was tense. There were two guys waiting in the parking lot. They led us into the restaurant without a word. The scene was chaos when we walked in. There was blood pooled on the floor, surrounding a male body. Mr. Iero had his gun in his hand. Four guys had their guns pointed at us. Frankie just turned around in his chair, which was across from his great uncle, and with a big grin said, “Hey guys!”  
What the fuck?  
“Hi, Frank,” was all I could muster. I didn’t smile.   
Mr. Iero waved us over.   
“My nephew tells me we have some business to discuss. That things are more…complicated than I imagined.”  
“Yes, sir.”  
Angie looked like she was about to faint or cry, I couldn’t tell. The blood was pooling around my feet. I lifted them up and nudged to Angie to do the same. Mr. Iero noticed and looked sharply at one of the men pointing his gun at Angie.   
“Clean that up, what are we animals here, or what?”  
The man put his gun down and came back with large towels, a mop and a bucket. He didn’t look thrilled to be on cleaning duty. I didn’t blame him.   
“So Frankie tell me you don’t feel ok with the cop.”  
“No, sir. I’ve never did that kind of job before, and—”  
“No need to explain. You’re a good kid, Gerard. You’re also a friend of my favorite nephew and I understand if you have certain boundaries.”  
He smiled, but I wasn’t buying it. He continued.   
“Boundaries are important. We need to uphold them.”  
Uh-oh.   
Angie shifted in her seat uncomfortably. Mr. Iero looked stern.   
“Frankie tells me there’s been a misunderstanding. My niece Angie has something to tell me. Don’t you?”

Angie looked him in the eye for the first time.   
“I know you’re angry with me, but please understand. I chose the family in the end. I—I wanted to protect you all.”  
“But you chose the government before that. Didn’t you think that eventually you couldn’t have both?”  
“I didn’t think I’d have to choose. But when the time came, I did. And I chose you.”  
Her uncle paused. He looked thoughtful.   
“What have you been doing these days? How do you support yourself?”  
“I do what Gerard does.”  
Her uncle laughed.   
“What? My niece? My little Angie? Good god!”

“She’s a good shot.” I piped in, taking a risk.   
“Is she?” Mr. Iero seemed interested.   
“Sometimes she’s better than I am.” I smiled.   
“Hmm…”  
“She was going to kill your niece’s attacker, only I got there first. If I hadn’t she would have taken him out single-handedly.   
He looked at Angie.   
“Why?”  
“Because she’s family. And he hurt her. I went after him on my own.”  
Mr. Iero was very deep in thought now. One of his henchmen spoke up, breaking the silence.   
“Sir, I don’t think you should trust—”  
“Did I ask you?” he pointed his gun at his face, “You want Enzo cleaning your blood off the floor next? Pipe down.”  
Frank smiled at me reassuringly. He looked cool as a cucumber. I myself wouldn’t relax until there weren’t any guns pointed at Angie. Mr. Iero looked at me thoughtfully.   
“You seem to have good judgement, Gerard. Would you trust my niece?”  
“With my life.”  
“Oh? So quick to answer! Why is that?”

Shit. I was shaking like a leaf. How do you tell a mob boss you’re banging his great niece?

“Well, I…because I would…” for the first time, I was stuttering to him.   
Suddenly, Mr. Iero started laughing. I was so stunned I didn’t know what to do.  
“I’m messing with you, kid, Frankie told me you two are an item. It’s nice, it kind of ties you in, you know?”  
Mr. Iero turned to the other guys in the room, “C’mon, guns away everyone, relax, relax…”  
I took a deep breath. Frank laughed at me.  
“You should have seen the look on your face, man!”  
I turned to Mr. Iero, I knew I owed him now, “Mr. Iero, if there’s anything I can do for you—”  
“No, no, none of that, kid. I would, however, ask you to consider a favor for my favorite nephew.”  
Frankie was looking at me. Grinning from ear to ear.   
“Oh….Frank, c’mon.”  
He lit a cigarette and blow the smoke in my face.   
“Friday and Saturday night. Two shows. Full sets. Don’t book any jobs, I don’t want anyone’s blood all over my stage. Or wait…that might actually work…”   
I rolled my eyes. I had my girl. I had my job. Frank was going to be the death of me.


	2. Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gerard has to make some changes.  
More violence, more smut, more laughs.

Hitman-Part 2  
I could see the bastard through the scope, his shiny teeth and everything. He looked like one of those rich, Calvin Klein model types. Fake as all hell. He was alone in his penthouse off 5th and Central Park. He was an easy target. The window was even open! I always get lucky with these windows.   
“Take the shot, Gee,” Angie said.  
She had been sitting next to me for the past half hour.   
“I need the perfect moment.”  
You can’t rush perfection. She knew that, she was just teasing me. I jumped, but didn’t hit the rifle, as she unzipped my pants.   
“Hey, hey, none of that! As much as I would love to—”   
I tried to be responsible, it didn’t work. She took me in her mouth. She knew exactly what she was doing, in more ways than one. I was still gonna take the shot. I refocused the scope. The guy was still sitting in his living room. I aimed. God, she felt good. I let out a moan, without thinking.  
“Fuck...”  
“Concentrate, baby,” she smirked, taking her mouth off me long enough to be snarky.  
On which thing? If I didn’t take the shot I was gonna miss it. I aimed and fired right at the asshole’s temple. He went down. I saw him lying there through the scope. Clean up could wait a few more minutes. I let her work her magic with her tongue. After I came she laughed and ran her fingers through my hair.   
“Good boy.”  
I gave her a smirk. She liked testing me. I didn’t mind.   
“You have a good work ethic,” she laughed, “you can focus through distractions.”  
“I’m gonna pull that on you, sometime.”  
“We’ll see.”  
We packed up and loaded everything back into the car. We went to Mr. Calvin Klein’s penthouse. I already knew the codes from stalking him for three days. We got into his personal elevator and into the apartment without a problem. He was laying on the floor by the sofa. We cleaned up the blood—what little there was—and bleached the floor. We packed him in a body bag and left as quickly as we came. We exited the building out the back service entrance and headed into a back alley. On the other side of the alley was an abandoned garage. We put his body in an acid barrel we had prepared the night before. We took off our extra top layers of clothing, put them in the barrel, and went back to my car.   
I looked at Angie as she put on her seat belt and let her hair down from her ponytail.   
“I’m taking you to dinner tonight,” I said, leaning against the steering wheel.   
“Oh?”  
“Yep. We haven’t been on a real date since Frank’s shows, you know. I think it’d be nice.”  
“Watching you strut around a stage singing is not a date, Gerard. Although, you did sound really good. And you looked really hot.”  
“All the more reason to go to dinner with me.”  
“I accept!”   
She was kidding, of course. We’d been dating for about two months. She just liked to tease me. Things were going great. I was surprised. We bickered here and there, but mostly about what gun to use in which situation. I still hadn’t touched a drop of alcohol, even when Frank forced me to sing for two nights in a row. In bars. He watched me like a hawk. I could feel him breathing down my neck whenever we weren’t mid-song. I was grateful for it. I couldn’t afford a slip up. I had never seen Angie get drunk. She enjoyed a glass of wine or a vodka once in a while when we were out, but there was never alcohol in her house and she had never gotten wasted, at least not with me. I wasn’t sure if that was for me or if it was just how she did things, but either way, it was nice.   
I dropped her off in front of her apartment.   
“I’ll pick you up at seven thirty. Dress up nice, ok?”  
“How nice?”  
“Remember that benefit where we met?”  
“Woah. Black tie?”  
“Yep.”  
“Shit, Gerard! We’re going aristocrat tonight.”  
“That’s right, baby. See you then.”  
The sun was up, but it was still ridiculously early. I parked by the coffee shop and went inside. I ordered my usual and waited for Frank. He showed up about ten minutes later, with a stupid grin on his face.   
“What’s with the look? You get laid?”  
“Yes.”  
“Oh! Ok, then.”  
He plopped into the chair and the waitress brought him his usual. I think she liked him, because he never even had to order anymore. She always winked when she gave him his coffee.   
“Gerard, I’m getting married.”  
I spit half of my mouthful of latte all over the table, “What?”  
“I’m proposing to Jamia. Tonight.”  
“Wow! Oh my god, dude, congrats!”  
There went the waitress’s hopes and dreams. Honestly, they were gone a long time ago. Frank and Jamia had been a thing for ages. I knew this would happen sooner or later, but it was just weird thinking of my best friend being a married man. Settled down, mature…   
“So how are you gonna do it?”  
“I booked a nice dinner, a nice hotel suite, I figure I’d romance her and then pop the question.”  
He took a box out of his pocket and opened it, showing me the ring. It was nice! I was surprised Frank had such good taste in jewelry.   
“Her brother helped pick it out,” he smiled, noticing my surprise.   
“Ah. It’s gonna be great, she’s gonna love it.”  
“You think she’ll say yes?”  
“Um…Frank, really? Yes, she’ll say yes! You guys are inseparable. I better be your best man.”  
“Of course! You still have that black on black suit? Cause that’s what she’ll probably want.”  
“Yep. And if you need anything, let me know. I mean it.”  
“Dude, I couldn’t—”  
“Frank. I’m serious.”  
He nodded, knowing I wouldn’t take no for an answer.   
“How are things with Angie?”  
“I mean, no where near wedding bells, but really good. She’s great.”  
“I told you so.”  
I smirked. He knew he was right. He always saw right through my stubbornness.   
“So, um…we’ve got a few shows coming up…”  
“Frank.”  
“It’s just a couple more, and it’s really nice size crowds, and—”  
“Frank, no.”  
“Why are you so against this?”  
“I just… I just can’t, Frank. I can’t do it anymore. I found my niche.”  
There were things he wanted to say. He looked around, probably deciding that this wasn’t the right venue.   
“We’ll talk later?” he asked, hopefully.   
“Sure. Now go get ready for your big night!”   
“Actually…I was hoping for your help.”  
I was exhausted, I wanted to go home and sleep. I couldn’t say no to my best friend when he was about to propose.   
“Sure, what do you need?”  
“I need your car, and I need you to help me get the room ready.”  
“I’m not touching anything sexy.”  
“That’s not what I meant, ass!”  
“Then what?”  
I sat in the passenger seat trying not to fall asleep as Frank drove us six blocks toward midtown. We stopped in front of a flower shop.   
“You can’t pick up flowers by yourself?” I complained, the brakes jerking me awake.  
“There’s a lot of them.”  
He wasn’t kidding. We carried dozens and dozens of roses to the car. We drove to the hotel where Frank had requested an early check in. We went to the reception desk to get the key. The receptionist smiled at us.   
“Aww, look at those beautiful roses! You must be one special guy,” she said winking at me.   
Frank laughed, “Yeah, he’s the love of my life.”  
“That’s so beautiful! Enjoy your stay with us.”  
I starred daggers at Frank when we got into the elevator.   
“What?” he laughed, “It was funny.”  
“Yeah, uh huh. You’ll be saying that when you bring Jamia later and she tells her ‘hey, your dude brought a guy here this morning with a bunch of roses.”  
“Jamia would know she meant you.”  
“What does that say about us?”  
“We’re fucking gay as fuck.”  
I laughed hysterically. I was lucky to have the greatest best friend in the world. We got off the elevator and Frank unlocked the suit. It was gorgeous! Frank had taste! Jamia was going to be so surprised. We arranged the roses around the room and left a bottle of wine in the fridge. We locked the room back up. I dropped Frank off at his apartment and finally headed home. My apartment was empty and quiet, just the way I liked it! Except for when Angie stayed the night. She didn’t do it often; she knew that I liked my space. I appreciated that. I slept over at her house more often, because I knew she didn’t mind having me there at night. She knew when I needed to be home and alone. She read it in my face and would graciously tell me to go the fuck home and get some rest. She was perfect for me. I sprawled out on my bed and kicked my shoes off. I stripped down to my boxers and was out within minutes. 

I awoke to my alarm blaring at 5:30p.m. I jumped into the shower and got ready for my date. She was weak for the back on back suit. I hadn’t worn it since the day we met, but she brought it up once when we were in a less than innocent situation. I made sure my hair was cooperating, put some product in it that Frank suggested, and headed to her place. On the way I double checked our reservation. Everything was in order. I figured I’d be a gentleman and go to the door instead of beeping the car horn. I knocked and she answered right away. When she opened the door, I could barely breathe. I hadn’t seen her dressed up since that benefit. I was stunned. She wore a silver dress with a cut up the side to her thigh. Her hair was in an elegant, loose bun, with little sparkly things stuck in it. Perfection.   
“Wow. You look…wow.”  
“You’re not so bad, yourself.”   
I noticed then that she had been staring at me, too. I felt my face turn a little red.   
“You ready to go?”  
She nodded. I kissed her and walked her to my car. I even held the door open. I was killin’ it!  
“So where are we going?”  
“Somewhere fancy.”  
“I gathered that. The valet is going to be so confused.”  
She was right. We were going to a really expensive, exclusive place, dressed like movie stars, in my shitty car. The valet was gonna shit when I gave him the keys!  
We pulled up the restaurant and sure enough, the valet raised his eyebrows.   
“Can I help you, sir?”  
“I have a reservation. Here’s the keys.”  
I handed him the keys as he stared wide-eyed at my car. I handed him a Benjamin. That changed his mind.   
“Yes, sir!”  
He jumped in and drove away. Angie laughed. I loved seeing her so happy. We went inside. The host greeted me with a smile.   
“Do you have a reservation, sir?”  
“Yes, it’ll be under Way. Gerard Way.”  
“Ah, yes, I see you’ve chosen our library. Wonderful choice, sir. I’m sure the lady will be pleased.”  
Oh, she will! Even more so, later. I kept that little happy thought to myself and just nodded in agreement.   
“We’re eating in a library?” she asked as we followed the host through the main dining room.   
“Yep. You’ll see.”  
Behind the main dining room, which was stunning by itself, were two double doors that lead to a more private dining room with only a few tables, a fireplace and its own bar. We went through yet another set of double doors to our own, completely private room. It was originally designed as the library in the building we were in. It was so beautiful, they kept it as-is. It had a fireplace, a bar, our own server, and we were allowed to browse at the books and read them. The host pulled out a chair for Angie. We sat as he informed us our waiter would be over shortly.   
“Gerard, this is…I don’t know what to say. Thank you.”  
“Don’t thank me. I wanted to do this. You deserve it.”  
“How much did this c—”  
“Not answering. Don’t worry. You know my income,” I winked at her.   
I never spent money, at least not like this. I avoided buying anything expensive at all costs. She knew I had money, she’d just never seen me actually use it. I preferred my normal, non-luxurious life in my crappy apartment and my piece of shit car. I wanted to do something special for her. I think I did ok. She smiled and just kept looking around the room in awe. When our waiter came over, she ordered wine and I stuck to club soda. We ate foods that we never heard of, laughed, talked, for at least a good two hours. I moved my seat closer to her and touched her leg through the cut in her dress. She got goosebumps. Good. I kissed her softly and traced her lips with my tongue.   
“Gerard…” she sighed.   
“What? That’s what private dining experiences are for.”  
“To make out with your date at the table?”  
“Exactly. Plus, I slipped the waiter and bar tender some cash to lock the door and leave us alone for a bit.”  
“Did you, really?”  
“Honest to God.”  
I pulled her onto my lap and wrapped my arms around her waist, kissing her as hard as I could. She pulled back and looked at me, eyeing me up and down.  
“What?”  
“That suit,” she said, licking her lips. Score! Black-on-black suit: 1 Angie’s hormones: 0.   
I smiled at her, moving my hands to her breasts, her waist, all the way down to her ass. The fabric of her dress felt so smooth over her body. Why were we still here, again? Oh yeah, fancy romantic date. I kissed her softly this time, touching her cheek. She wasn’t having it. She bit my neck, making her needs clear.   
“Have you had enough romance?”  
She didn’t have to verbalize her answer. She looked dead into my eyes. She wasn’t smiling anymore. I knew what that look meant. Mission accomplished.   
“You have two choices,” I whispered in her ear, “We have fifteen more minutes until that waiter comes back. We either fuck right here and I make you scream so loud the other diners get scared, or I take you home and make you mine, and I take all the time I need.”  
She swallowed. She thought for a minute.   
“Take me home with you.”  
“Whatever you want, baby.”  
I tapped her leg and she stood so that I could get up. I walked over the door and knocked. The waiter came back in, looking at the mark she left of my neck.   
“Will you be having dessert, tonight?”  
“No,” I smiled, “just the check. I’ll have something decadent at home.”

The twenty-minute car ride home felt like forever. I hid my frustration. She tortured me this morning, now I was going to torture her. She’d love it, though. I rubbed the inside of her left thigh as I drove. I could feel her squirm in the seat. I made sure to keep my hand closer to her knee. Am I a terrible person? Maybe. When we got to my apartment, she immediately kissed me and went for the buttons on my jacket. I pushed her hands away and laughed.   
“No no! I said I was going to make you mine, remember?”  
That dark look came back to her eyes. She remembered. She stood still, waiting for instructions. That was my cue that she was willing to succumb to whatever I would ask. She knew I’d make it worth her while, and then some. I lifted the skirt of her dress above her hips and looked at her black silk panties.   
“Very nice,” I whispered, running my fingers over the smooth fabric, “I have something to match those.”  
I let her dress fall back down over her hips, turned her around and unzipped it, letting it fall to the floor.   
“Get on the bed,” I commanded in a quiet, but firm tone. She did as she was told. I went to my closet and get what I needed from a shoebox in the corner. When I went back to my bed, she was laying on her back with her legs spread open. It was tempting, but I wanted to play. I showed her the black silk ribbon in my hands.   
“See? Matches your panties. It must be meant for you.”   
She bit her lip and put her hands over her head, giving me permission to tie her.   
“Nope, turn onto your stomach.”  
She obliged. I wrapped the ribbon around her wrists and tied her to a wrung on the headboard. I slid two fingers in between her wrists and the ribbon to make sure it wasn’t too tight. It’s not fun interrupting a pleasurable moment because your girlfriend is losing circulation in her hands. I took off my jacket and my shoes. I left her shoes on her feet; there was something hot about the dress being off and the shoes still on. I left on my shirt, my tie and my pants, for the time being. I knew she’d like it. I ran my hands over her back and removed her bra. She sighed at the slightest touch. Putty in my hands. Perfect. I leaned over her and ran my tongue up the side of her neck to her ear, biting softly at first, then harder as I made my way toward her shoulder, leaving as many marks as I could.   
“You’re mine,” I whispered, running my finger over the fresh little bruises, “I know you are, but I wanna hear you say it.”  
“I’m yours,” she whispered.  
“Good girl. Louder, next time.”  
I bit her shoulder hard, breaking her skin as she cried out.  
“Louder. Like that.”  
I tiny drop of blood appeared on her shoulder. She moaned as I liked it off. I leaned back up and got up from the bed. I took off her panties and spread her legs open. I could have just taken off my pants and went for it. Part of me wanted to, but the more desperate she was, the more satisfying it was for me. I decided to keep playing. I took off my pants and rolled up my shirt sleeves. I laid on my side facing her, rubbing her gently in between her legs with my fingertips. I turned her face toward me.   
“You have to listen to me. Do you promise to listen?”  
“Yes.”  
A gave her a light spank on her bottom, “Louder, I need to hear you.”  
“Yes.”  
“Good. I want you to tell me before you come, got it?”  
“Yes.”  
She spoke louder this time.   
“Good girl.”  
I pushed two fingers inside her. She moaned louder than before. I loved that sound. I moved my fingers slowly, feeling her hips move with me. She wanted it rough, I could tell, but I wasn’t going to give her that. Yet. I rubbed her clit with my thumb, feeling her start to tremble for a while. Her leg muscles tightened. I gave her a chance to say something. Nope. I took my fingers away from her and spanked her hard. She made a desperate noise.  
“You promised you’d listen. Bad girls who don’t listen get punished. Now you have to wait longer.”  
“Gee…gee please….”  
“No, sweetheart, I don’t like to punish you, but you didn’t listen. Are you going to be a good girl if I turn you over onto your back?”  
“Yes.”  
“Promise?”  
“Yes.”  
I untied her, let her turn over, and retied her again. I looked at her face and smiled.   
“So pretty,” I said, running my fingers over her lips, “I wanna watch you when you come for me.”  
She opened her legs on instinct and pleaded to me with her eyes. It was obvious that she could see how hard I was against my underwear. Now I was torturing both of us. I loosened my tie and unbuttoned the first few buttons of my shirt. I leaned down and spread her legs wider, running my tongue over her, tasting how sweet she was.   
“Mmm…better than dessert.”  
It didn’t take long. She writhed beneath my fingers and my tongue within a couple of minutes, moaning the loudest I had ever heard her. I kept going until she started to relax.   
“Fuck, Gerard.”  
Oh. That was good. She only cursed when it was really intense, and she said ‘Gee’ when she was being cute, and Gerard when she was really into it. My hand accidently rushed against her clit as I moved to stand up, making her body jolt. Yeah, I’d say she was feeling pretty good. her legs were still trembling.   
“I’m not done with you,” I said, removing the rest of my clothes.   
Now she could have it rough. I entered her hard, shuddering as she cried out in pleasure, wrapping her legs around me, pulling me in deep. I loved it but I couldn’t move the way I wanted to like that. I unwrapped one of her legs from around me and held her thigh upright, letting her leg rest on my shoulder. I fucked her so hard I couldn’t see straight. She screamed. I had never heard her scream like that before, she was the quiet type most of the time, she let her body do the talking, but not tonight.   
“Oh fuck, oh my god, G—ah!”  
I’m guessing that’s good if she can’t even get your full name out. I moved her leg and turned her onto her side. I had never done it that way, but it just seemed like a good idea on instinct. She agreed. I had an interesting point of access this way. I rubbed her clit and fucked her as hard as I could until she was a trembling mess beneath me. I was done holding back. I came watching her come with me, then collapsed over her. We laid there, catching our breath for a minute. I untied her hands and kissed her softly all over. I knew she knew it, but I always felt like I needed to remind her that I was only rough with her to please us both and not to harm her or use her in any way.   
“Oh my God, Gee…”   
“Good?”  
“What do you think?”  
“You seemed pleased.”  
“That’s an understatement.”  
I held her in my arms, “You’re hot when you’re submissive. Those noises alone—”  
“Don’t get used to it, Mr.! I may do that in the bedroom for you, and I may really enjoy it, but everywhere else…you’re my bitch.”  
I laughed. Like I said, perfection. 

I awoke the sound of my phone buzzing like crazy on my nightstand. I let my eyes adjust to the light and looked at the screen. Frank had texted me six times in a row. Shit! His proposal! I mean, I wouldn’t have called or texted him anyway, I wouldn’t want to interrupt anything special with phone noises. He had sent a bunch of hearts and smiley emojis, and “SHE SAID YES” over and over, like I hadn’t already guessed! I returned his text.  
Congrats, dude!   
He answered me almost immediately.   
We’re gonna grab lunch and we’ll swing by your place, Jamia said she just has to give you a hug.  
If it were anyone else, I would have said no, but it was Frank and Jamia. I hated people in my apartment. Jamia just assumed I was broke because of the state of it, she didn’t know what I did for a living. I can’t remember what Frank told her. This meant it was time to get out of bed and get dressed. I nudged Angie, who was sleeping beside me.   
“Hey,” I nudged her and kissed her cheek, “we have to get up, baby. Frank and Jamia are coming.”  
“Ugh, why?” she whined.   
I was surprised, she always got excited when we got to hang out with Frank. He was her favorite relative.   
“Are you ok?”  
“No.”  
I noticed she hadn’t opened her eyes.   
“I have a really bad migraine.”  
Oh. She had told me about these. She gets them once in a while, and when she does, it’s bad. No light, no standing, no noise, or she’ll vomit and be in excruciating pain. I usually just left her alone when that happened, but she was pretty much stuck at my place now until it passed.   
“What can I do, honey?”  
“Turn off the god damn lights for starters.”  
I turned off all the lights and shut all the curtains and blinds. She sighed in relief at the darkness.   
“Can you bring me a trash can just in case?”  
I put the small trash bin from the bathroom by the bed.   
“Can you just lay with me?”  
“I would, but I have to get dress and so do you.”  
“Can you tell them to come another time? Please?”  
“I would, but they just got engaged last night, and—”  
“What!?”  
Her attempt at excitement wasn’t very enthusiastic, but I could tell she was happy even though she felt like shit.   
“Oh my God! Ok, help me get dressed.”  
I got dressed first and then helped her to put comfortable clothes on without moving too much. We had agreed to take the step of keeping some toiletries and clothes at each other’s places, without it being too much. Of course, we also kept a gun at each other’s places, but that was just normal for us, maybe not so much for other couples. She winced when Frank knocked on the door too loudly. I answered, stepping out into the hall before letting them in.   
“Ok guys, get the yelling out now, before you go in there. Angie has a migraine.”  
“She still gets those?” Frank frowned, “Is it a bad one?”  
“Yeah she can barely sit up.”  
Jamia frowned, “We won’t bother her then, I just wanna say hello and show her the ring, then I’ll let her rest.”   
Jamia hugged me tightly.  
“Congrats, you two!” I said, hugging her back. She really was perfect for Frank.   
“Thanks for carrying all those roses. Frank told me what happened with the receptionist.”  
We had a good laugh. Jamia went inside to say hello to Angie. I hugged Frank.   
“I’m so happy for you, man.”  
“Thanks. I couldn’t have gotten here without you.”  
“Horseshit.”  
“No, it’s true.”  
We had a moment of silent understanding. Frank smirked.   
“So how was your fancy date?”  
“Good.”  
“That’s it? Just good?”  
“Well you’re not getting details!”  
“I’m just busting on you.”  
He went inside and smiled at his cousin.   
“Migraine, huh?”  
“Yeah,” Angie said pathetically.   
“Next time tell Gerard to pull you farther away from the headboard before he starts…” Frank teased, making a thrusting motion with his hips.   
“Frank!” Jamia snapped.   
“I’m serious, she should get checked for a concussion.”  
I rolled my eyes.   
“Congrats, cousin! The ring is lovely.”  
“Thanks. Gerard’s gonna look great next to me as my best man, too!”  
“That reminds me,” Jamia chimed in, “Angie will you be a bride’s maid? I know we haven’t gotten to know each other closely, but it’s so important to Frank and I for you to be part of our big day.”  
She didn’t say yes right away. I knew she was thinking of several things. 1. She hated weddings. 2. She had been estranged from the family and had only just patched things up two months ago; would it be awkward? 3. She hated girly shit in general.   
“Of course, Jamia, it’d love to.”  
Of course, she wouldn’t say no if Frank was involved, and she really did like Jamia.   
“Perfect! I’ll fill you in on details as we go.”  
“Gerard, can you text her my number? I can’t look at a screen right now.”  
“Sure, babe.”  
Frank and Jamia excused themselves, knowing that Angie just wanted to close her eyes and be in the quiet. I showed them out and planned to meet up with Frank the next day for our usual coffee. Poor Angie. When I got back inside, she was puking. I ran over and pulled her hair back. When she was done, I brought her water.   
“What would I do without you?” she muttered, collapsing back onto the pillow.   
“Get puke in your hair and stumble around in pain to get your own water?”  
“Pretty much.”  
“Do you wanna sleep? I can go out for a bit, get out of your hair.”  
“Yeah, I’m just gonna sleep. You don’t have to sit here.”   
“Ok. Here’s your phone if you need me. I won’t be gone long, ok?”  
“Ok…” she was already dozing off.   
I freshened myself up and left, locking the door behind me. I decided to take a walk. The weather was mild enough for it. I lit a cigarette and headed down the street. I didn’t smoke as much as a I used to, but I still enjoyed it now and then. I would let Angie rest, hopefully she’d feel better, and then I could take her home. Or did I not want to take her home? Ugh… this is where things get muddy. Don’t judge me, ok? The second night we slept together, the first time I was in her apartment, the whole “I love you” thing…yeah, that hasn’t happened since. In a way it’s a good thing. It was too early to say it. It just kind of slipped out of my mouth, and out of hers. Neither of us ever said it again, and neither of us have brought it up. I’m honestly not sure if she forgot, or if she’s just avoiding the topic like me. To be completely honest, there have been times when I wanted to say it. Like last night, for instance. That was one of the best nights I’ve had with her. She fell asleep soon after we had sex and I was just watching her sleep. I wanted to say it even though I knew she wouldn’t hear me. I held back. My stomach was starting to do flips just thinking about it. My face got hot just walking down the street. I stopped and took a few deep breaths.   
This is what had happened with my past girlfriends, not that there were many. Only two relationships and a few bad, disappointing hook-ups. As soon as the girl was ready for the “I love you” thing, or the “maybe I could stay at your place” thing…eww. No. Back off. I’d end it. But Angie? I couldn’t see myself leaving her. Things were great. We understood each other pretty well, she didn’t mind me not drinking. She had obviously figured out that I had a problem, she wasn’t stupid. She didn’t judge me or make big deal about it. She gave me my space when I needed it. And the sex…oh my God…it’s like we shared a wavelength in the bedroom. I mean I’ve had good sex before, but not like this. Not with someone I actually wanted to spend time with afterward. This was new for me. I didn’t know what to do. Do I tell her and make myself vulnerable? I’d probably just ruin things. If I just let things keep going the way they were, maybe it would stay good and just…no, she’d eventually want commitment. Or she’d get sick of my shit and just call it quits…maybe? I don’t know. Women are so complicated! I walked a few blocks, trying to think of something else. My phone buzzed. Blocked number, no surprise there. It was probably work related.   
“Yeah?”  
“This Gee?”  
“Who’s asking?”  
“Name is Six. I got a job if you want it.”  
“Talk to me.”  
“Not safe on the phone. I’ll text you a meeting place.”  
“Got it.”  
I hung up and waited for the text.  
Green’s Theater on 22nd. 3pm. Don’t bring the lady.   
How the fuck did he know about Angie? Was word getting around that I was working with someone? I mean, we didn’t do every job together. We still did our own thing and then we’d help each other out when we weren’t booked. I responded.   
Noted.   
It was nearly one o’clock. I walked back to the apartment. I was too curious to let this go. When I got back, Angie was awake. She was sitting up, that was a good sign.   
“How do you feel?”  
“Getting better. I took my meds and they’re finally kicking in.”  
“Good. Are you hungry?”  
“No, I’m not sure about food yet. Maybe later.”  
“Ok. Let me know and we’ll get something. Maybe we can chill later…come back here and watch movies?”  
I eyed her closely. I really hoped she’d get it.   
“Um…like, here?”  
“Yeah.”  
“Are you… are you asking me to stay another night?”  
I had never had her here for more than one night in a row. She knew it was a big deal for me.   
“Yeah.”  
I didn’t look at her. I rubbed my eye and scratched my head and turned toward the kitchen, pretending like I was looking for something.   
“Ok. If you’re sure. I’d like that.”  
I nodded and took a deep breath. That was over. I laid on the bed next to her and remembered the text.   
“Something weird happened when I was taking a walk. I got a call from a guy. He specifically asked me not to involve you.”  
I showed her the text. She raised her eyebrows.   
“I have no idea. I don’t know the address.”   
“Know anyone who goes by “Six”?  
“Nope. Weird.”  
“Are you ok with this?”  
She was surprised, “Why would I not be ok? Go do your thing, baby. Maybe he doesn’t like women.”  
She shrugged and cuddled against my chest, closing her eyes. This was one of those moments. I wanted to say it. I couldn’t. 

When I got to the theater, there was a guy smoking outside the main entrance. He saw me and motioned for me to follow him to the back. I kept my hand near the gun in my belt. My intuition told me I was safe, but you never know, right? He led me to a back door. We went inside to what looked like a renovated dressing room. Another guy sat at a table. Next to a woman with strikingly bright red hair.   
The man motioned for me to sit.   
“Are you Six?” I asked him.   
“Nope, I am,” the woman smiled, “You’ll be working for me, if you accept the job.”  
“Oh! Pleasure to meet you.”  
“Likewise. You must be good if Angie’s hanging out with you.”  
“You know her?”  
“Oh yeah, we go way back to the academy. We were in training together. She went the profiling route and we were stationed in different states. I always liked her, though. When I found out what happened I felt terrible. No one should have to chose between their family and their career. She made the right, call though.”  
“If she’s your friend, why didn’t you want her here?”  
“To protect her. I know if she heard me say that, she’d be pissed.”  
The woman lit a cigarette and offered me one. I declined. She kept talking.   
“I keep tabs on her. I still have some connections, you know? I left the FBI a few years ago for similar reasons. I just want to make sure she’s ok. When I saw her with you I was protective at first, but now I think it’s…well it’s kinda cute.”  
Cute!? What was this lady smoking? I brushed it off.   
“Angie doesn’t need anyone’s protection. She’s tough. She’s a better shot than me sometimes.”  
“I don’t doubt it, no offense. But this person I need gone…She can’t get involved.”  
“Alright. No problem.”  
“There’s another thing…it’s gotta be a close-up job. He watches for snipers.”  
“I can do that.”  
It’s been awhile since I got bloody. I kind of missed it. It might be fun.   
We talked money to get it out of the way before she told me about the guy. It was a nice sum. Let’s put it this way; if I wanted to replace my car, I could walk into any Benz dealer and walk away with a brand new one paid in cash. I wouldn’t do that, though. She handed me a photo. It was a blonde woman with long curly hair and cold eyes.   
“Woah… no, no, I should have said this, I don’t—"  
“You don’t do hits on women, I know.”  
“Then why’d you ask?”  
“I think you’ll make an exception.”  
“Doubt it.”  
She raised her eyebrows, challenging me. I was willing to hear her out, but I didn’t think she’d convince me. I was wrong. What was with these FBI women being so demanding? Was it a common trait among female ex-government employees?   
“Her name is Felicia Atwright. She was an instructor at the academy when I was there with Angie as a student. She was tough. She had it out for Angie from the minute we walked into our first training.”  
“Why?”  
“We didn’t know at the time, but it was because of the Iero family in general. She didn’t think Angie should have been there. Anyway, as time went on, she was harder and harder on Angie, and then me, by association. We proved her wrong. Whatever she threw at us, we threw it right back. Angie was at the top of our class.”  
“You want me to kill her because she gave Angie a hard time at school?”  
“No. That’s not it. Angie got tired of what she was doing. She reported her and Felicia was fired from teaching and lost her credentials when she failed a psych eval. A few months ago a couple of Angie’s cousins were being investigated by the FBI. It blew over, they didn’t find anything. I found out Felicia was behind it. She still has friends in the FBI that supported her. She gave up trying to investigate the Iero’s, eventually.”  
“Well that’s good, isn’t it?”  
“No. She’s moved on to another plan. She’s getting personal.”  
“Is she going to go after Angie?”  
“No. Someone she loves. Frank.”  
This bitch was fucking dead. 

I left that theater on a mission. I was going to mutilate her. I was glad this was close contact. I wanted to look in her eyes when I got her. I was ready to pack my stuff and find her, but unfortunately, she was in Palm Springs and wouldn’t be in New York until next month. I was more than ready to hop on a plane and ruin her luxurious vacation, but Six suggested that I not do that. She had more protection there. I had to plan this carefully. Until then, I would also have to keep a close eye on Frank—all without telling him what was going on. I had to think of something. Angie couldn’t help me. She’d go ballistic! I could see why Six didn’t want her involved. There was too much of a risk of her getting hurt or doing something impulsive. I composed myself as I opened my apartment door.   
“How’d it go?” she asked.  
“Good. Nothing out of the ordinary. You were right though; he just didn’t like women.”  
“Sexist asshole.”  
“Mhhm! Are you hungry yet? You should try to eat something anyway.”  
“Yeah actually I could go for some food.”  
“What do you want?”  
“Pizza sounds good.”  
“I’ll call and go pick it up.”  
I never let delivery people near my apartment. No way. They couldn’t be trusted. You think that delivery guy is just a dude trying to make ends meet, but he could be casing my place or checking it out for another guy in the business trying to take me out. Not chancing it. We spent the evening watching movies and eating. It was relaxing. I could use it. When that bitch came back from Palm Springs I’d have to be on red alert until she was dead. Angie laid on top of me on the sofa, her head against my shoulder. She was cute like that. I kissed the top of her head and squeezed her against me.   
“You going soft on me, Gee?”  
I know she was kidding, but the comment made me nervous. I was thinking the I love you thing in my head right before she said that. Maybe I was getting soft. Now was not the time to be soft. I had to toughen up. I had a big job ahead of me. I couldn’t afford to get emotional now. I couldn’t lose her.   
“Nope.” I said calmly and tried to focus on the movie. 

TWO WEEKS LATER  
It was hard keeping tabs on Frank. So far, it didn’t seem like he was being followed. However, I did manage to change the locks on his apartment without him or Jamia knowing. I changed the locks and changed their keys. No problem! They were none the wiser. I also managed to spend most of my free time tailing Frank, sometimes in secret, sometimes in his company. Of course, sometimes he noticed me scoping the room when he was at rehearsals. He’d ask me what the hell I was looking at or would bug me about how many “cigarette breaks” I took. I was really just going outside to look around for snipers. Frank would always try to coax me into doing a song or two just for fun. I told him, absolutely no shows.   
Angie wasn’t as easy. She knew something was up. The odd part is, she never confronted me about it. I was waiting for her to just explode and yell “What the fuck is going on with you, Gerard?” but she never did. She would give me an odd look and then and ignore whatever I had done. She didn’t spend any more consecutive nights at my place after that one time. Maybe she thought it freaked me out and wanted to back off? To be honest, it didn’t bother me at all. I actually liked it. I was too embarrassed or stubborn to tell her that. Besides, if the conversation got all mushy, I would get emotional, spill my guts to her, let my guard down, and then compromise everyone’s safety. Not happening. I was also worried I would push her away. Was that better, though? At least until the hit was over? Keeping this whole thing balanced was hard.   
We planned to go to one of Frank’s gigs, which was perfect. It was another opportunity to watch him like a hawk without having to hide. The only problem was the crowd. Frank’s band had been increasingly popular over the past two months. The venues got bigger and the crowds got bigger with them. It was going to be hard to be vigilant. I tried to look inconspicuous as I held onto my club soda like a crutch. Frank was totally into the show. He had agreed for once not to bug me to sing. I took a sip of the club soda. It tasted kind of flat, but I was thirsty. I took another drink. It wasn’t club soda. Fuck. I felt heat rise to my neck. Sweat instantly dripped down my neck. It was like I couldn’t breathe. I wanted to down it. Just drink the whole fucking glass in one go. I remembered that burning feeling that would go down the back of my throat…so good. No. No.   
“Gee? Gee, are you ok?” Angie was looking at me with shock on her face.   
“There’s vodka in this.”  
“Fuck!” she grabbed the glass from me and fought her way through the crowd to the bar. I watched as she reamed out the bartender. I couldn’t hear her, of course, but I’d bet there were a lot of curse words. The bartender looked apologetic. Angie eased up. The bartender gave her a glass of water. She marched back to me and tested the water before handing it to me.   
“Are you ok?”  
My head was swimming from anxiety.   
“I’m fine. I just need to go to the bathroom quick.”  
I took the glass of water with me. I stood in front of the bathroom mirror. I swished the water around in my mouth, trying to get the alcohol taste out. I splashed water on my face and took a few deep breaths. The door opened behind me.   
“Yo, dude, you ok?” Frank poked his head in.   
“If you stopped your show to check on me, I’ll kill you.”  
“No, we were taking a break. I came to look for you. Angie told me what happened.”  
“I’m fine.”  
I wiped my face and followed him out of the bathroom. Angie was right there. I kissed her harder than I had intended. I needed a distraction.  
“Don’t worry,” I whispered to her, “I’m fine.”  
I looked over at the bar. The bartender had been watching me. She didn’t look apologetic anymore. She looked angry. She made the mistake of making direct eye contact. I read her like a book. That fucking bitch. I knew something was up. Frank had started playing again. Everyone was distracted. I yelled in Angie’s ear.   
“I’ll be right back. Stay here.”  
I went outside and walked down the back alley. There was a back door that led to the kitchen and storage room on the club. A guy was holding it open while he smoked. I walked right past him. If you walked with a purpose, people usually didn’t question you. I waited by the fridge. She would come back here to get something at some point. I only waited five minutes before she came in with an empty lime wedge bin. I didn’t like to be rough with women, but I was pissed. I grabbed her arm and pushed her against the wall.   
“Who do you take orders from?”  
“What? I don’t—”  
“Don’t fuckin lie to me. You just served me vodka. Someone told you to do that. Who?”  
“Some lady gave me a hundred bucks to put a shot in your drink, I don’t—”  
“Bull shit, I said don’t fucking lie!”  
She looked at me with anger in her eyes.   
“She’s gonna get her way, you know. She always does. What Felica wants, Felicia gets.”  
I let her go. Well, she’s never gonna get me. I went back into the club through the bar entrance. So, Felicia was trying to get my guard down with booze. Not gonna happen. My phone rang. It was a blocked number.   
“Yeah?”  
“Gee? It’s Six. I got a tip from a friend, she’s back early. She got back in New York this morning, find your friend! Now!”  
She hung up. I looked around as I put my phone back in my pocket. I had a gun ready, just in case. I found Angie and kept her close to me. I looked around frantically. Nothing. Nothing. Something wasn’t right. Then it happened. Bang! Broken glass was flying everywhere. I pushed Angie to the floor and tried to get to the stage. I couldn’t see through all the people screaming and running. When I finally got to the stage, sirens were blaring through the screaming. Frank was on the floor with blood all around him.   
“Fuck! Frank!” I shook him. He opened his eyes.   
“Gerard…get me outta here.”  
Cops were coming through the front. Angie was by my side out of no where. She started trying to pick up Frank. We carried him together out the back door. How the fuck was he even conscious? We got out to the alley. He leaned against the wall. Blood covered his shoulder.   
“Frank, you need a hospital.”  
“No, I’m good.”  
“Good!? Frank there are bullet holes in your goddamn shirt!”  
He smiled and unbuttoned his shirt as we walked down the alley away from the club.   
“I’m good, see?”  
A bullet proof vest. He had a fucking bullet proof vest on under his shirt.   
“Frank…why are you wearing that?”  
“You know why. For this exact purpose!”  
He laughed at my confusion.   
“Gerard, did you really think I didn’t know?”  
“I…I…”  
“Come on, let’s get to your car.”  
We found my car. Frank laid in the back seat. Angie climbed in the passenger seat, with tears in her eyes.  
“Frank,” she cried, “How did you know?”  
I looked at her wide eyed, “Wait, how did you know? What the fuck is going on?”  
“Look, everybody knows, ok? I knew someone had a hit out on me to get back at Angie. My people are mafia people, they know things, ok? They gave me the vest and they’ve been looking out for me, too.”  
“How did you know?” I asked Angie.  
“An old FBI contact who’s close to Six. I wasn’t lying when I said I didn’t know her. She goes by a different name, now.”  
“Wait, so you both knew that I knew, but you didn’t tell me?” I whined. I felt betrayed.   
“I didn’t want you to get upset,” they both said at the same time.   
“Why would I get upset?”  
“You’re upset now!” Angie yelled.  
“Yeah because no one clued me in to what was really going on!”  
“Well neither did you!”  
“Guys, can you stop fighting for one minute and just get me somewhere with towels and peroxide? A bullet grazed my shoulder,” Frank yelled from the backseat.  
“Drive to my house, I’ve got stuff,” Angie said stiffly. We were all silent the rest of the way.   
Once we reached Angie’s house, we helped Frank inside. Angie put his bloody clothes and vest in a bag and hid them in her closet until we could burn them. Frank sat in the bathroom holding a towel over his shoulder. Angie and I stood over him.   
“Ok, let’s see,” she said, lifting the towel away gently.   
It wasn’t too deep, but it would need cleaning and a couple of stitches.   
“Gerard there’s a blue box in my closet, can you get it?”  
I was glad to have something to do. I got the box and brought it in. I watched her clean Frank’s shoulder, but I had to leave the room while she stitched him up. I know they were talking about me in there. I didn’t care. I had failed miserably already letting Frank get shot. I had alcohol in my mouth for the first time in two years. Angie and I had lied to each other. It was too much. I wanted to walk back to that bar and sit there and drink while the cops cleaned up the mess around me. I pressed my feet so hard against the floor, convincing myself that I had to stay. Running out wasn’t an option. Angie came out of the bathroom with the bloody towels.   
“He’s a tough bastard. He didn’t even flinch.”  
Yep. That’s Frank.   
“I called Jamia. I told her he’s fine and we’re bringing him home.”  
I nodded in response. Angie bandaged Frank up. When we got to Frank’s house, there were two guys outside. I recognized them from Frank’s uncle’s place. They were, you know, family. We took him inside. Jamia was in tears. She hugged Frank tightly.   
“Ow, babe, watch the shoulder!”   
At least we knew someone was covering Frank’s house. The shooter was still out there, as well as the stupid Felicia bitch. Angie and I looked at each other. We were both pissed at each other, but that could wait. We had to get her, first. It was like we read each other’s minds. We made sure Frank was settled and got back in the car, promising his family members on the way out that we’d get the shooter and bring them a nice photo of the bloody corpse. We drove toward the club. It was surrounded by police cars. There were no ambulances there. Hopefully no one else got hurt. I was worried about the other guys, but that had to stay in the back of my mind. No one was safe until the shooter was dead. The shooter shot through the front window. I would have to drive around the block to avoid the police to get to that side of the building.   
“Do you know which direction the glass was hitting you?” I asked Angie.  
“From the top, falling downward. Definitely a sniper.”   
“He’s sloppy, though.”  
“Time restriction.”  
She nodded. We narrowed it down to two rooftops. This guy was sloppy. He left two cigarettes on the roof where he shot from. They were recent, too. Dumbass. I looked at Angie.  
“You know Felica. Where would she be?”  
She was surprised I knew that name. She shrugged it off.   
“Uh.. she had a penthouse toward Park, but I don’t know if she still lives there. She’s a materialistic fuck, it’s one of the fancy ones.”  
“They’re all fancy!”  
“No, this one stands out.”  
“Let’s go then.”  
I made my way to the car. She followed me in a huff.  
“We can’t just go there, guns blazing!”  
“I didn’t say I was using a gun.”  
“Either way, you can’t just go in there.”  
“Watch me.”  
I put the car in drive and we made our way toward Park Ave.   
She was really pissed, now. I really fucked up somewhere. I was pissed, too, although I really couldn’t pinpoint why. I had too many things swirling around my head, but mostly mutilating Felicia until she was a pile of organs and blood for shooting my friend and trying to ruin my girlfriend’s life. Even if Angie didn’t want to be my girlfriend anymore after tonight, I was still pissed about that. I lov—oh boy… there it was, again. Stop, Gerard, stop. I pulled over a block away from the west side of the park and dug through my trunk. Angie stayed in the car. If she wasn’t coming, that was fine. I loaded my pockets. Switchblade, grenade, three guns, knife in my boot. I walked up the block and saw exactly what Angie had meant about the building. It was the most luxurious one and stuck out like a sore thumb. I walked around to the next alley and found the back of the building. I climbed up the fire escape and looked in all the windows. If she had the fanciest penthouse, she’d be at the top back corner. I was out breath by the time I reached it, but I found the right window. Bingo. She was in there, talking with a guy with a cigarette, the same kind as we found on the roof. Felicia and the shooter in one room! Boom! Of course, there was no way I was getting through the window. Too secure. I climbed up to the roof and picked the lock on the rooftop door. I found a service elevator. That wouldn’t work. The private elevator needed a personal code; I couldn’t get in that way. Fuck.   
Just as luck would have it, the elevator bell sounded. Someone was about to step out. I took a chance on it being Felicia or the shooter. It was…no one? Odd. Only now I could use the elevator without a code! I jumped in and pressed the only other button besides “Lobby”. I had a weapon ready, just in case. When the doors opened, I was in a fancy foyer. The front door was left slightly ajar. I couldn’t hear anyone at first, then I heard muffled voices from the next room.   
“You’re sure he’s dead?”  
“Yes, ma’am. There’s no way he could have gotten out. I saw the shots hit him in the chest.”  
“Then why isn’t ABC news flashing in my screen saying, ‘Local musician killed in club shooting’?”  
She was pissed. They were arguing.   
“Maybe they’re keeping it quiet. He’s in a mafia fam—”  
“I know who my target is, you imbecil!”  
She sounded like a knock off Disney villain. I hated her even more. I crept closer.   
“I swear to you, he’s dead.”  
“I’m hiring someone else for the other one. I won’t stand for your incompetence.”  
The other one? Did she mean Angie? I wasn’t risking either of them leaving this room alive. I stepped out from around the corner, scaring them both.   
“Your door was open, I thought it was okay to just come in,” I said with a smile.   
“Who the fuck are you?” the shooter said, pointing a gun at me.   
“He’s her boyfriend,” Felicia laughed, “Shoot him.”  
I ducked down before she could finish her sentence. I had the knife in my hand already. I lunged underneath him and cut him right in the ball sack. Right through his fucking pants. He collapsed on the floor and bled everywhere. I pulled out a gun and shot him in the head. You don’t point a gun at me and get away with it. Felicia raised her eyebrows at me.   
“He was incompetent, anyway,” she sneered.   
“So I’ve heard,” I snapped back, pointing my gun at her.   
She laughed.   
“Think it’s funny?” I cocked the gun, ready to fire.   
“The minute you shoot me, the cavalry comes though that door. You’re on six different cameras right now, Mr. Way.”  
“You’re bluffing.”  
“Try me.”  
The lights flickered. The power went out completely. All I heard was her voice.   
“Shoot!”  
And I did.   
A flashlight shined in my face. Holding it was Angie. She shined the light on the floor. Felicia was dead. Bye, Felica! I had been waiting to say that.   
“C’mon, we have to clean up and go!”  
We worked faster than we ever had. Angie had gotten the security footage. I didn’t ask how. She had also cut the power and had sent up the elevator earlier. How she knew to do those things, I had no idea and I didn’t have time to ask. We cleaned up the blood; thank God this bitch didn’t have carpets. We had both remembered to wear gloves, so we were safe with fingerprints. The problem was going to be the bodies.   
“Should we hack?”  
“We can’t hack in the dark, Gerard. Then that’s just more blood, anyway.”  
She was right.   
“Garbage bags.”  
We looked around the kitchen and found heavy duty contractor bags. We stuffed the bodies in those and did a last once over of the apartment. Everything was good. Unfortunately, we had to lug both bodies down the fire escape. It took forever and was exhausting. But there was no one around, so it had to do. Angie pulled my car around. We put the bodies in the trunk until we could locate a burn barrel. We found one by the docks on the East River and lit them up. Bye Felicia and shooter! We sat there until the evidence was gone. The sun was coming up by then. We had sat in silence for a long time, with a horrible tension between us. We got back in my car. I started the engine.   
“Where do you want to go?” I asked her.   
“Where do you want me to go, Gerard?”  
“What’s that supposed to mean?”  
She sighed, “Where do you want me? Do you want me to go to home and never speak to you again? Do want me to go to your apartment and fuck you and then send me home? What do you want?”  
“That’s not fair. I never once used you for sex. I never once ‘fucked you and then sent you home’. That’s ridiculous.”  
She didn’t answer at first. She sat there for a moment. Then the sobbing started.   
“I know,” she sobbed, “I’m sorry I said that.”  
Now I didn’t know what to do. I expected the fight. I expected the anger. I didn’t expect the sobbing.   
“I didn’t tell you I knew about Six and Felicia because I knew you had enough on your plate. I know you don’t like discussing how you feel, and I knew that if it came up, you might…have to tell me that you wanted to protect me. It had nothing to do with me thinking that you couldn’t handle the job.”  
Oh. Oh, boy…what do I even say to that? I just sat there, like an asshole. Fortunately, she continued talking.  
“I think Frank kept it a secret because he knew we would both worry.”   
I nodded in agreement. I couldn’t blame Frank.   
“I know why you didn’t tell me,” she continued, “you wanted to protect me. You wanted to handle this alone so you could keep me safe.”  
I nodded again. I prepared for a lecture about how I shouldn’t think she’s weak or incapable of protecting herself. I braced myself, but that’s not what I got.   
“Gerard, do you know how wonderful it feels to know that someone like you is protecting me?”  
“What? No, no…”  
I shook my head violently. I felt my face get red and flushed. The tears came. The tears came really hard. I was shaking so bad. I gripped the steering wheel so hard my knuckles were white. She pried my hands off it and held them in her own.   
“Gee, why don’t you believe me?”  
“You…can’t possibly…f-feel that way about me,” I stuttered through the tears.   
“Why not?”  
I just shook my head. I couldn’t put it into words. I was just unlovable. I was one of those unlovable people. Blood on my hands, a loner, a person meant for a life of solitary confinement, save for my two friends and one brother. I wasn’t meant to be partnered with someone that I didn’t deserve. I tried to calm down, but the tears came harder. She just sat with me, holding my hand. When I could finally breathe again, she turned my face toward her own, gently. She looked so beautiful. I could just kiss her. I could just hold her for hours. My mouth opened and I don’t know how I found the guts to say it.  
“I love you.”  
“I love you, too.”  
“I mean it.”  
“I know, so do I.”  
“I never felt this way about anyone. I just got really scared. I didn’t know if I was pushing you away, or if I was gonna move too fast and then freak out, or if—”  
“Gee, it’s ok. I know.”  
“How?”  
“I was an FBI profiler, remember?”  
Well, this was embarrassing, but convenient in a weird way. I was curious about one thing, though.  
“How long have you known that I love you?”  
“I’ve suspected for a while, but when you asked me to spend two nights in a row at your apartment, I knew for sure.”  
“You weren’t going to say anything?”  
“No, I was going to wait until you brought it up. I didn’t want to scare you.”  
“How long would you have let our relationship go on that way?”  
“Honestly? Forever. Unless something crazy happened like if one of us died, or if you left me, or if you cheated—”  
“I would never do that!”  
“I know, neither would I, I’m just proving a point.”  
I smiled, “Are you mad at me?”  
“No. Just do me a favor. I know it’s hard for you to express your feelings, but just try, ok? I know it’s gonna take a while, but try.”  
“I will. Can I kiss you, please?”  
“Of course, you c—”  
I couldn’t help it, I cut her right off! I kissed her as softly as I could. I wanted to show her I loved her, not just tell her. I realized I couldn’t do that in a parking lot behind a dock in my shitty car.   
“Can we go back to your place?”  
“Sure.”  
I was in a hurry, but I tried not to drive recklessly. We went back to her apartment. I sat on her bed while she took a shower. I wasn’t sure if she expected sex at all, but I wanted it to be different. I wanted to show her how much I loved her. I didn’t want to fuck her. I stripped off all my clothes. I heard the shower water stop. I walked into the steamy bathroom. She was drying herself off. She looked at my naked body in surprise. I took the towel from her and gently dried her skin. I took her face in my hands and kissed her lips softly, taking in the moment, letting my fingertips travel up and down her body. I picked her up and carried her to her bed, leaning over her. She smiled up at me with the most beautiful smile. I smiled back. This is what it felt like to be in love. I can’t describe what it’s like making love to someone you’re in love with, that you know loves you back. It’s kind of more private than those other times that I shared with you in detail, anyway. All you need to know is that it was absolutely incredible, and very soft and slow. I had only been asleep for a few minutes when my phone started going off. It was Frank.   
“Hey man, what’s up?”  
“Nothing really, you know, just recovering from a gunshot wound, and everything…you know, worrying about my best friend going after the bitch who had a hit out on me…”  
Oh shit! I should have called him. Fuck!  
“I’m sorry Frank, I’m so s—”  
“Were you guys having make up sex?”  
I was not going to answer that.   
“Or was it angry sex? Like when you’re still fighting, but you’re turned on?”  
“Frank. Seriously?”  
“It was make up sex, wasn’t it? Oh my god, did you tell her you love her?”  
“Frank, I’m not discussing this right now.”  
“You did, didn’t you!”  
“Frank, focus! The bitch is gone, so is her henchman. It’s all good. How’s everything on your end?”  
“Good. There was only one minor injury at the club, no big deal. Mikey and Ray are fine. The cops don’t have a fucking clue. They questioned me like four times, but they’re stupid. One of them is in my uncle’s pocket anyway, so if anything comes up…no big deal.”  
“Cool.”  
“Coffee tomorrow?”  
“You don’t want to stay home and rest?”  
“No way! Besides, I’d like for things to get back to normal. I’ve been on edge for two weeks waiting to get shot at.”  
I totally understood.   
“You got it. See you tomorrow.”  
“Oh wait, one more thing! Tell Angie to be prepared. We’ve decided to move up the wedding. Jamia’s a little paranoid now and wants to marry me before someone else tries to take me out.”  
“Noted.”  
I hung up and tried to fall back asleep. Angie was still sleeping next to me. I had so many thoughts going through my head, but one of them was the loudest: It was time for a few changes in my life. Big changes. When Angie woke up, we would have to talk. 

THREE MONTHS LATER

I stared at myself in the bathroom mirror. It was definity a drastic change, but I liked it.  
“C’mon, Gerard, let me see!” Angie yelled from the other side of the bathroom door.   
I hadn’t told her what I was doing, only that I was changing up my hair. It had been a black mess for the longest time.   
“You ready?” I yelled, unlocking the door.  
She opened it as soon as she heard it unlock and gasped.   
“Oh my god! You’re…blonde! Like, white blonde! And it’s so short!”  
“Do you hate it?”  
“No, I love it!”   
“Frank’s gonna freak the fuck out.”  
“What time is he picking you up?”  
“In about an hour. What time are you meeting up with the girls?”  
“I have to leave in about half an hour. Please make Frank behave. I don’t want to have any horror stories for Jamia.”  
“I can’t promise that!”  
“Are you going to be ok?”  
“Like…with them being piss ass drunk? Yeah. It’s fine. I’ll babysit.”  
“Not only that, I mean…the talk you’re gonna have with Frank. If you need me, call me, ok?”  
“I will, but I’ll be ok. I promise.”  
She finished getting ready and asked for a once-over. She looked good. I didn’t like the idea of guys being all over her.   
“You look great,” I said kissing her, “I love you.”  
“I love you, too. Be safe!”  
“You, too.”  
She headed out the door. I finished getting ready. I heard a car horn beep outside. Perfect timing. Frank and I were taking a taxi together downtown to the hotel where he and Jamia would get married tomorrow morning. He was having his bachelor party at the club underneath the hotel. The girls were meeting some where across town and then coming back to the hotel to crash. Tomorrow was the big day. My best friend in the whole world would be married. I couldn’t be happier for him. I had a few things going on as well, and I needed his help. I got in the car, and he hugged me instantly.   
“Gee!”  
“Are you ready, Frank?”  
“Oh I’m there, baby! Wait, what the fuck, your hair!”  
“I know, I know, I changed it.”  
“It’s cool, dude! Why the change?”  
“Have you been drinking yet?”  
“I had one beer, but that’s it. I’m old, dude, I have to pace myself, you know? The kid days are over! Why?”  
“There’s something I wanna talk about while it’s the two of us.”  
“Sure, what’s up? Are you ok?”  
“I’m fine, everything is good. That’s actually why I wanna talk.”  
“Spit it out, Gee.”  
He was right. I had been working on this.   
“Things have been really good with Angie. So good, in fact, um…I’ve decided to hang it up.”  
“What?”  
“I’m hanging up the sniper rifle. It’s time for a change of career. I want something…safer. Something better, actually.”  
“Oh yeah? What were you thinking of doing?”  
“I was um…hoping you were in the market for a vocalist…”  
I didn’t know if he was about to laugh or cry.  
“Gee…are you serious?”  
“Yes, completely.”  
“Like, full time? Rehearsal, all the gigs, full time band member?”  
“Yes.”  
“Oh my god…of course! Absolutely!”  
He hugged me so tight I couldn’t breathe.   
“This is the best wedding present you could give me!”  
“Oh? I’ll return the other one, then.”  
“Very funny. What about Angie?”  
“What about her?”  
“Is she on board with this?”  
“Yeah. It’s because of her I actually came to terms with it.”  
“What’s she going to do? Will she still be in the business?”  
“No. She’s taking some time away from that to decide on what she wants to do. She has enough cash that she doesn’t need to work right now, anyway. There’s something else that I want you to know, though. My lease is up in five months, and Angie and I have decided to live together when that happens. I’ll be moving into her place. She’s got two bedrooms and a much bigger bathroom, so…”  
“Oh shit…Gee, you’re…I’m so proud of you! Look at you! Expressing your feelings, actually living with someone, coming back to music…I just…wow!”  
“I couldn’t have done any of it without your support. I remember what it was like for you when I was drinking…and I’m so sorry, Frank.”  
“None of that! This is a happy occasion!”  
He leaned against the window, smiling out into the city lights. I smiled, too. He was right. We had a lot to celebrate.


	3. Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this one is short, but I just felt like it needed some additions before ending. it's extremely smutty, sorry not sorry.

Hitman Part 3  
“I now pronounce you, Mr. and Mrs. Iero.”  
I couldn’t help but tear up a little bit as Frank kissed Jamia. I looked over at Angie, who was wiping what I assumed was a tear from her eye, although, I’m sure later she’d tell me she just had an itch or something. We linked arms and followed Frank and Jamia in the procession down the aisle, greeting family and friends at the end. Frank’s great uncle paid for the reception and had spared no expense. Frank had been in no position to argue. When that man offers you something, you take it. Frank’s great uncle smiled when he saw me standing next to his niece.   
“Hello there, young man! It’s been a while since I’ve seen you.”  
“Same, sir,” I smiled, shaking his hand.   
The last time I saw him, there were two dead bodies on his restaurant floor that he had put there himself.   
“I look forward to you making an honest woman out of my niece, Mr. Way.”  
He winked at me and moved on before I could respond. Oh god. Marriage? Me? No way. I would be with Angie for as long as she would have me, but…rings? Dresses? Tuxedos? Dancing? Government paperwork? No. It dawned on me that Angie might want that someday. Or even…oh god…babies! My facial expression much have given me away. Angie put a reassuring hand on mine.  
“Gerard, relax. He’s just old-school,” she smiled.   
I still felt anxious. I tried to occupy my mind with other things. I had a surprise for Angie waiting at home. I knew she didn’t really like all the girly events leading up to the wedding that she was forced to participate in, but for Jamia, she did everything with a smile on her face and would come home exhausted. Too exhausted for sex. We had fucked once in the past week and half, which was agonizing for us both, but I didn’t want to push the issue. Since everything was over after today, she deserved something special, and I knew exactly what she’d like. She had asked before, but I always said no. Just like saving a bottle of champagne for a special occasion, I had been saving her request for a night like this. The reception wasn’t awful. We danced a little, laughed and shared stories with the guys. I was glad to see that Angie didn’t drink much. Of course, I didn’t have anything, but I was worried she’d let loose with the alcohol and not want to play later. She stuck to one drink. Good. When we got into the car to go home after wishing Frank and Jamia bon voyage on their honeymoon, Angie collapsed into the passenger seat.   
“Are you tired?” I asked her, hoping she wouldn’t fall asleep in the car.   
“No, actually, I’m kinda getting a second wind.”  
“Perfect.”  
“Hm?”  
“Nothing.”  
“No, you’re hiding something.”  
“I have a surprise for you at home.”  
“What is it?”  
“I’m not telling, you’ll see when we get home.”  
She looked happy and impatient, a wonderful combination. She practically ran into her house as soon as I parked the car. I followed her inside where she waited in the living room.   
“Well, what is it? I don’t wanna wait anymore.”  
I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her.   
“Just give me a couple minutes. I want you to go in the bedroom and undress. Take everything off, got it? I want you to lay on the bed and wait for me. Don’t leave the bedroom. And no touching, I’ll know if you do.”  
Her eyes were wide with excitement. Poor woman. She had no idea what she was in for. After she went into the bedroom, I got a box from the trunk of my car and went into the bathroom. I took the clothes out of the box and shook out the wrinkles. The last time I had worn the priest’s clothing was when I was trying to carry out a hit in a church and was interrupted by a certain fiery woman who ended up killing the guy for me in the confessional. I admit, it turned me on just thinking about how she admitted later that seeing me in that collar turned her on. She knew I kept the outfit and had asked several times for me to wear it since then. I needed build up, and I needed it to be a surprise. Now was my perfect moment. I put on the black pants, shirt, and jacket, and straightened the collar. I fixed my hair and added some eyeliner. She had seen me wear it at one of Frank’s shows and had been asking for that, too. Needy woman. I made sure I was happy with my appearance and went to the bedroom. I opened the door to find her beautiful body laid out for me, just as I had asked. She turned to look at me at the sound of the door creaking open, her eyes wide. I leaned against the door frame.   
“Lustful woman…what am I gonna do about that?”  
She sat up.   
“On your knees, sweetheart.”  
She did as she was told. It was difficult not to get ahead of myself when she was so perfectly obedient.   
“Did you keep your hands away like I asked?”  
“Yes.”  
“Yes, what?”  
“Yes, Father.”  
“Good girl,” I whispered, caressing her soft face with my fingers. I didn’t realize how close my hips were to her face. She nuzzled her cheek against my cock. No way. I grabbed her hair and pulled her face away from me.   
“Did you ask to touch me, honey?”  
“No, father.”  
“Did I say you could touch me?”  
“No, father.”  
“Get on the bed.”  
She laid on her stomach, expecting to be spanked.   
“No, lay on your back. I need to teach you a very important lesson, and spanking isn’t going to be enough.”  
She turned over onto her back and centered herself on the bed. I straddled her, careful to stay on my knees and not touch her body like she wanted.   
“Lust is a sin, darling, but you’re more than lustful. You’re greedy. You need to learn to appreciate what you have. You get my cock anytime you want. How would you feel if you couldn’t have it? How would you like it if you were dripping with want, but didn’t have my tongue, my fingers, or my cock to make it all better? You wouldn’t like that, would you?”  
“No, father.”  
“I think you need a reminder. I want you to lay here and think about how sinful you’ve been. I’m gonna make sure you can’t disobey me,” I tied her wrists to the bed posts, “Self-reflection and penance are the only way to forgiveness, sweetheart. I’m gonna make sure you can’t even rub your thighs together.”  
I tied her ankles to the rungs on the footboard of the bed. I checked all of them to make sure they weren’t too tight. I kissed her forehead.   
“I’m going to go relax. I want you spend your time thinking about how good it feels to have me eat your pussy, how good it feels to ride my fingers, and how you scream and moan when you take my cock. When I come back, maybe you’ll appreciate it more, like a good girl.”  
I could help but smirk at her as I left the room, shutting the door only halfway. If she was going to pant and squirm, I wanted to hear it. For the time being, I sat in the kitchen smoking a cigarette. She was going to need to time to get to the level of desperation I wanted. I got through another cigarette and tiptoed to the door. I didn’t want to let her know I was right there listening. I heard her shallow breathing and the rustling of the sheets as she tried to move against the restraints. Perfect. I wasn’t ready to give in, yet. I watched the clock for a few minutes. I figured I’d give her an hour to sweat. It was difficult not to work myself up. I kept my mind on other things, like how the hell to talk to her about not being marriage material. That was the best thing to keep myself from getting a hard on. When the hour was up, she was still writhing on the bed. I sat on the edge of the bed and touched her breasts lightly, just to tease her.   
“Do you think you’ve been forgiven?”  
“Yes, Father.”  
“Let’s see how much you’ve learned.”  
I looked between her open legs. She was pink, swollen and dripping. There was a wet spot on the sheets. Beautiful. There was no way I could walk away again. It was difficult enough the first time.   
“I’m going to untie your ankles. Keep your legs open for me, sweetheart.”  
“Yes, Father.”  
I let her bend her knees so she was more comfortable and I had more access to her sweetness.   
“Let’s see if you still taste like sin.”  
I looked her in the eyes as I went down on her. God, she tasted good. It was painful to just give her a lick and a kiss and pull away, but it would be so worth it. She squirmed in protest as I sat up. I slapped her thigh.   
“Stop. You waited; you can wait a little more. If you complain again with or without words, I’ll leave again.”   
I was regretting those words as soon as I said them. Please be good, baby, I want this as much as you do!   
I kissed her softly, letting her know that I still wanted her underneath all of my fake indifference to her suffering. I kissed her neck, leaving little marks. I could feel her fighting back moans and sighs. She was trying, bless her…   
“I think I can forgive you, now, darling. Would you like that? You can speak.”  
“Yes, Father. Please.”  
“I’m going to untie you, and I want to you to lay on your stomach.”  
She did exactly as I asked. I leaned forward, kissing her cheek.   
“Such a good girl. I’m gonna make you feel so good, sweetheart. Lift your hips up, on your knees.”  
I knelt behind her as she leaned forward on her elbows and opened her legs. She made a low guttural sound as I slipped two fingers inside her, palm faced down so I could hit that spot and make her whine. I noticed she was biting her lip.   
“Open your mouth, honey. I wanna hear you.”   
She moaned as she got closer, pushing back against my hand. I could feel her walls tighten around my fingers.   
“That’s it, come for me. Come on.”  
“Ah, fuck!”  
I kept rubbing her slowly until her body relaxed. It took a few good minutes. She collapsed onto the bed.   
“I’ll forgive that dirty word, but just this once. Next time you get my belt.”   
“I’m sorry Father. It just felt so good.”  
“I’m not done, so you better think of other words to let me know how good you feel.”  
I laid down on my back. I couldn’t help but smile, I had been waiting for this part all day. I beckoned her toward me.   
“Come on, sit on my mouth. I want to taste you now that you got to come for me.”  
I don’t think I’d ever seen her move so quickly in my life. She positioned herself over my mouth, letting me guide her hips with my hands. She held onto the headboard. Good, she was gonna need it. I held her at the perfect length above me, not letting her just ride my tongue like she wanted to, not yet. I swirled my tongue up and down, swallowing her cum. I’m gonna be honest with you-guys, or gay women, who don’t do this are stupid and don’t know what they’re missing. I pressed my flattened tongue up against her clit, feeling her squirm and buck her hips against me. I loosened my grip to give her more control and moved just long enough to get a sentence out.  
“Go ahead, baby, make yourself cum on me.”  
Her thighs started to shake as she pressed herself harder on my tongue, panting, gripping the headboard tight, moaning through her orgasm. I wasn’t paying attention to how much she eventually relaxed. She didn’t move but let me lick all the sweetness from her core. I wasn’t sure when she had started to move her hips again, but eventually I felt her getting close a second time. I held her hips and repositioned my mouth to suck on her clit until she screamed.   
“Oh God, ah!”  
Her voice sounded like a prayer. So sweet and intense at the same time. Eventually she leaned back and sat on my stomach, catching her breath.   
“What do you say?”  
“Thank you, Father. Thank you twice.”  
“You were so delicious I couldn’t stop. I think there’s a way you can thank me. I’m ready for you. I think there’s something else you can move those pretty hips over.”  
She scooted backwards and put her hands on my belt buckle.   
“May I, Father?”  
“Yes, go ahead.”  
She undid my buckle and pants and wasted no time in lowering herself right onto my cock. This time I let my words slip.   
“Jesus fucking Christ.”  
“Father!”  
“I can’t help it, you’re like an angel. C’mon baby, don’t tease. Ride me hard.”  
It didn’t take long. All of my teasing and punishing of my girl backfired on me. She was still sensitive from before, thank God, and joining me in my orgasm after only a few minutes of riding me. She was so wet and hot I couldn’t help but let go and explode inside her. Thank God for IUDs. We laid next to each other, panting, all role-playing cast aside.   
“See, I told you I would bring the priest outfit back out. Were you surprised?”  
“Yes. I wasn’t expecting that at all! You always know how to please me, and simultaneously torture me to death.”  
I laughed.   
“You think it’s funny? I’ll remember this, Father.”  
She winked and stood up, stretching. It was then I knew that at some point in the future, I was sure to find myself tied to our bed with a raging boner, suffering just as she had. It would be glorious.   
“Wanna take that outfit off and shower with me? I’m tired of being the only one naked.”  
“Sure.”  
She got into the hot water before me, since she was already undressed. I took off my clothes, threw them in the laundry basket, and joined her in the steam filled bathroom. I wrapped my arms around her from behind and took the loofa from her.   
“Let me do that.”  
I lathered her body gently.   
“Gerard, are you ok?”  
“Yeah, I’m more than ok, why?”  
“Now that you’re not distracted, I just get the feeling that you’re thinking about something. You’re anxious.”  
“Well, no…”  
“Spill it. Is it about moving in together? Because you know we don’t have to—”  
“No, it’s not that at all. I’m excited about that. I told you my fears about that are gone, and I’m not lying.”  
“Is it the job?”  
“No. I mean I’ll miss it sometimes, but I know I’ll get back into the music and feel ok in a few weeks.”  
“Then tell me.”  
I was so nervous to open this Pandora’s box.  
“You don’t…you’re not gonna want…like…to get married, are you?”  
She took the loofa from me and turned to look me in the eye.  
“Gerard, is this about the comment Frank’s uncle made at the wedding today?”  
“Yes.”  
“I told you not to worry about that. He’s old fashioned.”  
“Yeah, maybe you feel that way today, what about two years from now? Or five? When you want a ring, and a baby, and a mortgage with a guest bathroom—”  
“What!? Are you serious right now?”  
“Don’t laugh, I’m really nervous.”  
“Listen to me, I don’t want that. I told you, I don’t ever have to get married, I don’t ever want to have kids, I don’t need a Subaru and a guest bathroom, Gerard. Just you. Whatever that entails is fine with me. I don’t have to become “Mrs. Something” to be happy.”  
“You’re sure?”  
“Yes.”  
“Ok.”   
“Feel better?”  
“Yes.”  
“Good.”   
I slept well that night, curled up next to Angie in her bed. Soon to be our bed. My sniper rifle would never be used again, except for a one-off hit Angie had to do for a friend. I kept getting calls for hits for the next six weeks, but people got the hint when I was turning down jobs left and right. My competitors were very happy. My first few shows were shaky, I even gave Frank the option of finding someone else, but he smacked me in the face and told me to never bring that up again. In a few weeks, we got signed to do a tour. Angie stopped working completely and joined us on the road. A year later, Jamia had a set of twins for us to spoil. We were happy. Life was good.


End file.
